Myeong Tae-gyun: "The 'Oh Se-hoon Doesn't Know' Recording Referred to Opposition Unity" — Statement Rebuts Oh's Claim of Innocence

[Financial News] In the appeal trial over allegations that the costs of opinion polls for Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon were covered by a third party, Myeong Tae-gyun submitted a statement to the court directly refuting the recording transcript cited by Oh's side as grounds for acquittal, calling its interpretation "an obvious misreading."

According to legal sources on the 30th, Myeong submitted the statement that day to the Seoul High Court's Criminal Division 7, which is hearing Oh's appeal. The division is presided over by Koo Hoe-geun.
Earlier, the court admitted three audio recordings of phone calls exchanged by Myeong and businessman Kim Han-jung, a longtime supporter of Oh, on March 6 and 13, 2021, as evidence to challenge the credibility of Myeong's testimony. In the calls, Myeong says, "Anyway, Oh Se-hoon doesn't know. He doesn't know, so don't worry. I'll take care of it myself," and, "Have I ever received even a 10-won coin from Oh Se-hoon?" Oh's side has argued that these remarks support the claim that Kim independently commissioned the opinion polls without Oh's involvement and that Oh himself did not know the specifics of the polls.
However, in his statement, Myeong countered, "Claiming, based on the phone calls, that Oh did not know about the opinion polls themselves is an intentional distortion of the timing of the calls and their overall context."
He explained, "The calls did not discuss whether to conduct opinion polls for the party primary. Rather, they were conversations about the specific circumstances and execution of the opposition unity strategy pursued with then-candidate Ahn Cheol-soo immediately after Oh Se-hoon was confirmed as the People Power Party candidate." He stressed, "The remark 'Oh Se-hoon doesn't know much' meant that Oh himself had not been receiving detailed reports on or keeping track of the minor details of the complicated unity strategy and its implementation that I had planned. It absolutely did not mean that he was entirely unaware of the existence of the opinion polls themselves." Myeong also added, "If the court finds it necessary, I am willing to appear in court and testify at any time."

Ahead of the April 7, 2021 Seoul mayoral by-election, Oh received unpublished opinion-poll results from Myeong on 10 occasions. He was indicted without detention last December on charges of violating the Political Funds Act by allegedly having Kim, through his chief of staff, cover the 33 million won cost.
The first-trial court found Oh guilty of commissioning five of the opinion polls, worth approximately 21 million won, and of Kim covering their costs. It sentenced Oh to a fine of 10 million won and ordered him to pay 21 million won in additional collection. If a conviction for illegally receiving political funds carrying a fine of at least 1 million won becomes final, the person cannot take public office for five years and must step down from any office currently held.
The appellate court will hold the final hearing at 2 p.m. on Oct. 2 and conclude the arguments. The hearing will include the special counsel team's sentencing recommendation, as well as the defense's closing arguments and the defendant's final statement.   

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