On December 1, Seoul officials charged Mayor Oh Se‑hoon with asking a loyal supporter to bankroll opinion polls run by a self‑styled political power broker before the 2021 mayoral race.
The indictment, filed by Special Counsel Min Joong‑ki—who’s already probing corruption tied to former first lady Kim Keon‑hee—was announced without any arrest and alleges that Oh violated the Political Funds Act.
Investigators say Oh directed businessman Kim Han‑jung to send 33 million won (about $22 400) to broker Myung Tae‑kyun for ten public‑opinion surveys conducted between January and February 2021. The money reportedly arrived in five instalments during February and March, just weeks before Oh’s April election.
Former Seoul Deputy Mayor Kang Cheol‑won, who served as the mayor’s campaign chief of staff, is claimed to have swapped questionnaires and discussed the polls with Myung under Oh’s instruction. Both Kang and Kim were also indicted on Monday for the same wrongdoing.
Oh has denied the allegations, insisting he never ordered or received the polls from Myung and that Kim’s payment was unrelated to him.
Myung counters that he met with Oh seven times, during which the mayor pleaded for a poll that would demonstrate his win over rival Na Kyung‑won. Kim maintains that the payment had nothing to do with Oh’s campaign and that he only assisted Myung hoping the broker would speak in his favour with Yoon Suk‑yeol, who became president a year later.
Myung is known to have close ties to Yoon and his wife, former first lady Kim Keon‑hee.
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