South Korea: Special counsel indicts Seoul mayor over proxy payment for opinion polls

Seoul, Dec 1 A special counsel team in South Korea indicted Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon on Monday on charges of getting a longtime supporter to pay for opinion polls conducted by a self-proclaimed power broker ahead of the mayoral election in 2021.

Special counsel Min Joong-ki's team, which is investigating corruption allegations surrounding former first lady Kim Keon Hee, said it indicted the mayor without physical detention on charges of violating the Political Funds Act.

The team suspects Oh got his supporter and businessman, Kim Han-jung, to pay 33 million won (USD 22,400) on his behalf to Myung Tae-kyun, the power broker, for 10 public opinion surveys conducted from January to February 2021, Yonhap News Agency reported.

The payment was allegedly made in five instalments between February and March that year, before Oh's election in April.

Former Seoul Deputy Mayor Kang Cheol-won, who was chief of staff of Oh's campaign at the time, allegedly exchanged questionnaires and discussed the polls with Myung at Oh's instructions.

Both Kang and Kim, the supporters, were also indicted on the same charges on Monday.

Oh has denied the accusations, saying he never commissioned the surveys nor received them from Myung and that Kim's payment had nothing to do with him.

Meanwhile, Myung has claimed that he met with Oh seven times and that the now mayor begged him for help, claiming he needed an opinion poll that showed him beating his rival Na Kyung-won.

Kim, the supporter, has claimed the payment had nothing to do with Oh's campaign and that he simply helped Myung in the hopes he would put in a good word for Oh with Yoon Suk Yeol, who was elected president the following year.

Myung is known to have had close ties with Yoon and his wife, Kim Keon Hee.

Disclaimer: This post has been auto-published from an agency feed without any modifications to the text and has not been reviewed by an editor