Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon Fined for Illegal Political Funding

The Seoul Central District Court convicted Oh Se-hoon, the Mayor of Seoul, on July 22, 2026, for violating the Political Funds Act. The court found that Oh commissioned five opinion polls from political broker Myung Tae-kyun ahead of a 2021 mayoral by-election and arranged for a supporter, Kim Han-jung, to pay the 21 million won cost. Oh was fined 10 million won and ordered to forfeit 21 million won.

Other accomplices also received penalties: Kim Han-jung was fined 5 million won, and former Seoul Deputy Mayor Kang Cheol-won, who acted as a go-between, was fined 3 million won. Under South Korean law, a finalized penalty of 1 million won or more results in the removal of an elected official from office. If the Supreme Court upholds this ruling, Oh will be ousted as mayor and potentially barred from holding office for five years.

Oh rejected the findings and announced an immediate appeal, claiming the verdict relied on circumstantial evidence and the testimony of Myung Tae-kyun. He characterized the investigation led by special counsel Min Joung-kie as the work of a "malicious investigative organization." The court, however, maintained that Oh's experience as a lawmaker and mayor made him well aware of the law and that the sentence was necessary to exclude the influence of money in politics.