Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon acquitted in political funds case

An appeals court on Friday acquitted Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon of political funding charges linked to opinion polls conducted ahead of his 2021 election, overturning a local court conviction that threatened his tenure and political future. The Seoul High Court panel, led by Judge Ku Hoi-geun, reversed a July ruling that fined Oh 10 million won ($7,500) and ordered him to forfeit 21 million won — a sentence that would have cost him his mayoral post had it become final. The case centered on allegations that Oh commissioned opinion polls from political broker Myung Tae-kyun ahead of the 2021 Seoul mayoral by-election and had his supporter, a businessman named Kim Han-jung, pay for them. The charges involved 10 polls and payments totaling 33 million won. The central dispute was whether Oh had requested the polls and knew that Kim was paying for them. “Myung’s testimony is the only direct evidence on the central issue in this case, but it is inconsistent overall and conflicts with objective circumstances on numerous points, making it difficult to believe,” the judge said. “It is diffic