Oh Se-hoon files appeal brief, says polling results went to PPP leadership — not him

Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon's legal team has argued that he never received polling results from political broker Myung Tae-kyun, filing a brief with an appellate court asserting his innocence on political funds law charges.

According to Yonhap, Oh's attorneys submitted an appeal brief Friday to Seoul High Court's Criminal Division 7, presided over by Chief Judge Gu Hoe-geun, arguing that "the person confirmed to have received regular, first-priority reports on all the polls named in the indictment was not Mayor Oh."

The attorneys said Myung's polling reports were delivered first to the People Power Party leadership each time, and that Oh never received the results. "If the results did not go to the person who allegedly paid for them, but instead went first and consistently to the party leadership, one can infer who the actual consumers of these polls were," they wrote in the brief.

Oh was indicted in December 2025 on charges of violating the Political Funds Act. Prosecutors allege that ahead of the Seoul mayoral by-election in January and February 2021, he received polling results from Myung and arranged for businessman Kim Han-jeong — a longtime supporter — to cover the costs on his behalf across 10 separate occasions, totaling 33 million won ($23,300).

The first-instance court found him guilty on five of the alleged polling commissions and the associated payment of 21 million won, sentencing him to a fine of 10 million won in lieu of imprisonment. If a fine of 1 million won or more is confirmed on appeal, Oh would be stripped of his right to stand for election and lose his mayoral post.

The lower court convicted Oh on five of the 10 polls charged by special prosecutor Min Joong-ki's team. It acquitted him on the remaining five — finding that four were commissioned by then-People Power Party emergency committee chairman Kim Jong-in or conducted voluntarily by Myung, and that while Oh had commissioned one poll, the payment on his behalf could not be established.

Oh's attorneys argued it was contradictory for the lower court to identify former emergency committee chairman Kim as the actual client for some of the polls while still finding Oh guilty of commissioning others.

The defense also noted that Myung discussed questionnaire drafts and sampling methods with Ji Sang-wook, then director of the Yeouido Institute, but held no such discussions with Oh — and that Myung had already been conducting polls from October 2020, before he even knew Oh.

The attorneys further challenged the credibility of Myung's testimony, noting it had been inconsistent, and argued that the court had selectively accepted only parts of it. "To use select portions of a single individual's statement as the basis for a guilty verdict, without direct evidence, there must be solid corroborating evidence or independent supporting evidence — but none was presented," they said.

Oh's side also noted that the public-release polls for which he was convicted were conducted at exactly the same time and through the same polling firm as surveys for the Busan mayoral by-election, arguing this showed he had not commissioned them independently.

The attorneys additionally argued that no evidence was cited to support the claim that Oh asked Kang Hye-gyeong, a polling firm employee, to arrange the payment on his behalf. They also maintained that Kim and Myung had simply crossed paths near the campaign office on several occasions and were not in contact at Oh's direction.

Oh, who has consistently denied all charges, expanded his legal team after filing the appeal by retaining additional attorneys from law firm Bae, Kim & Lee — Seong Chang-ho, Jang Jun-a, Ha Tae-han, Seo Dong-min, Yoon Byeong-seo, Kim Jae-hwan, In Jae-seong and Park In-seo. The first hearing of Oh's appeal is scheduled for Friday.