Special counsel seeks 18 months for Seoul mayor for allegedly accepting illegal funds

A special counsel team on Wednesday sought an 18-month prison term for Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon on charges of accepting illegal political funds in connection with opinion polls he received ahead of the mayoral by-election in 2021.

The team of special counsel Min Joong-ki also sought a forfeiture of 33 million won (US$21,800) at the Seoul Central District Court after indicting Oh in December on charges of violating the Political Funds Act.

Oh is suspected of having his political supporter, Kim Han-jung, make payments for opinion poll results he received on 10 occasions from self-proclaimed power broker Myung Tae-kyun ahead of the by-election in April 2021, which he won.

"Despite being in a position to follow the Political Funds Act more than anyone else as a prominent politician, Mayor Oh undermined the legislative purpose of ensuring transparency of political funds by making a third person pay for costs of opinion polls closely related to political activities without following legal procedures," the team said.

The team also sought a one-year prison term for Kim, Oh's supporter, and former Seoul Deputy Mayor Kang Cheol-won, who were both indicted in the case.

Oh has denied the allegations and accused the special counsel team of having a "political purpose" when he arrived at the court earlier in the day.

Yonhap