Seoul
A South Korean court convicted Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon of campaign finance crimes yesterday, a ruling that will oust him and bar a presidential run if upheld by the nation’s top court.
Oh was first elected Seoul’s mayor in 2006 and in June won a fifth term in the nation’s most powerful municipal role, considered a springboard to high office.
He rose to prominence as a possible contender for the opposition People Power Party (PPP) as other veterans were tainted by former President Yoon Suk Yeol’s 2024 martial law bid.
But the Seoul Central District Court ruled Oh had a patron pay 21 million won ($14,200) for five of his opinion polls in a 2021 by-election, breaching the political funds act. Oh was fined 10 million won, a court spokesman told AFP, and if the ruling is upheld by the Supreme Court he will be ousted as mayor and barred from office for five years.
“The purpose of punishing the illegal receipt of political funds is to foster the sound development of democratic politics by excluding the influence of money in politics,” the court said in a statement.
Oh, 65, pledged to appeal against the ruling, telling reporters outside the court he was convicted based on false testimony and “circumstantial evidence.”
“The five polls were recognized by the court as constituting a crime, which I cannot accept,” he said.
