Oh Se-hoon denies charges in first trial over alleged poll payment by Myung Tae-gyun: "I had no motive to ask for a favor"

[The Financial News] Seoul Metropolitan City Mayor Oh Se-hoon, who has been accused of receiving poll results from political broker Myung Tae-gyun and ordering that the costs be paid on his behalf, denied the charges at his first trial.
Criminal Division 22 of the Seoul Central District Court, presided over by Judge Cho Hyung-woo of the Seoul Central District Court, held the first hearing on the case on the 4th. Oh, who was indicted without detention on charges of violating the Political Funds Act, appeared along with former Seoul vice mayor for political affairs Kang Cheol-won and businessman Kim Han-jeong.
All three defendants rejected the indictment filed by the Kim Keon Hee Special Prosecutor Team, led by Special Counsel Min Joong-ki.
Oh’s legal team argued that he had no reason to ask Myung to conduct opinion polls. His attorney stated, "There is no fact that Oh asked Myung Tae-gyun to conduct opinion polls related to the Seoul mayoral by-election, nor did he have any motive to do so," adding, "Opinion polls intended for publication are, by nature, impossible to manipulate. Since there were already numerous poll results showing that Oh had strong competitiveness in the by-election, he had absolutely no reason to ask a small firm like the Mirae Korea Research Institute to conduct additional polls."
The defense teams for Kang and Kim also denied all charges. Kang’s side countered the special prosecutor’s allegations, saying, "At no point did Kang receive any instructions from Oh to consult with Myung and carry out opinion polls, whether such instructions were explicit or implicit." Kim’s attorney likewise stated, "Kim was never asked by Oh to cover the poll costs on his behalf or to lend him money for that purpose."
Prosecutors allege that between January 22 and February 28, 2021, over a total of 10 occasions, Oh received both public and non-public opinion poll results related to the Seoul mayoral by-election from Myung, and had businessman Kim Han-jeong pay the related expenses in his stead. The special counsel team believes that Oh contacted Myung through his then chief of staff, former Seoul vice mayor for political affairs Kang Cheol-won, obtained the poll results, and then asked Kim to pay a total of 33 million won into an account held by Kang Hae-kyung, deputy director of the Mirae Korea Research Institute, which they say was effectively owned by Myung.
theknight@fnnews.com Jung Kyung-soo Reporter