"Special Prosecutor Who Indicted the Victim Is Malicious": Oh Se-hoon Appears in Court for First Time Since Election Victory

[Financial News] Oh Se-hoon, the mayor of Seoul Metropolitan Government, appeared in court for the first time since winning the June 3 local elections and strongly criticized the Kim Keon Hee Special Prosecutor Team, which indicted him.
Oh appeared on the 10th at a continued hearing in a case involving violations of the Political Funds Act, which was presided over by Seoul Central District Court Criminal Division 22, headed by Judge Cho Hyeong-woo.
As he entered the courthouse at around 9:45 a.m., Oh told reporters, "The worst investigative agency in the world is one that indicts by reversing the criminal and the victim. In that sense, Special Counsel Min Joung-kie is truly a malicious special counsel."
He added, "During the trial, it was fully revealed that all of the opinion polls provided by Myung Tae-kyun and Kang Hye-kyung's group were fake polls with inflated sample sizes, and there were also admissions in court."
He went on to say, "The point of influencing the election, as Special Counsel Min Joung-kie's team intended, has already passed. It is late, but those fraudsters should be indicted as soon as possible."
However, he headed to the courtroom without answering questions about the "Jamsil vote-counting protest" or the "possibility of losing his election."
At the hearing, questioning of the defendant was conducted for co-defendant Kang Cheol-won, the former vice mayor for political affairs of Seoul Metropolitan Government.
Kang testified that he had a major argument with Myung around February 2021. He said that, in a statement to Kim Han-jung, a supporter who was indicted along with him on charges of covering the cost of opinion polls for Oh, he recalled saying that Myung seemed like a fraud because the poll results did not match reality.
He also testified that the relationship deteriorated to the point where insults were exchanged during a phone call after Myung learned of it.
Oh was indicted in December last year on charges of receiving unpublished opinion poll results from Myung ahead of the 2021 Seoul mayoral by-election and, through Kang, having supporter Kim Han-jung pay 33 million won in polling costs on his behalf.
The court plans to question Oh as a defendant, hear the special counsel's sentencing request, and receive the defendants' final arguments and final statements on the 17th.
Under the Public Official Election Act, if a fine of 1 million won or more is finalized for a violation of the Political Funds Act, the election is invalidated. In addition, if a sentence of imprisonment or heavier punishment is finalized and the person loses eligibility to run for office, the Local Autonomy Act bars them from remaining in the mayoral post.
 
scottchoi15@fnnews.com Choi Eun-sol Reporter