Oh Se-hoon: "Special Prosecutor Min Jung-ki Prosecuted the Victim, Let the Perpetrator Go... The Worst Special Prosecution"

Indicted on Suspicion of Third-Party Payment for Myung Tae-gyun's Opinion Poll Expenses

Denies Charges... "Front Row Witness to Criminal Group's Confessions"

"Will Have to Attend Court Throughout the Local Election Period"

Oh Se-hoon, Mayor of Seoul, who was indicted on suspicion of having opinion poll expenses paid by a third party connected to Myung Tae-gyun, strongly criticized the special prosecutor Min Jung-ki on March 5, stating, "Special Prosecutor Min Jung-ki prosecuted the victim while letting the perpetrators go," and called it "the worst special prosecution that will go down in the constitutional history of the Republic of Korea."

Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon Yonhap News

On the morning of the same day, Mayor Oh posted a statement titled "The Reconstruction of a Crime" on his social media account, making these remarks.

Mayor Oh appeared at the first trial for alleged violations of the Political Funds Act held the previous day at the Seoul Central District Court. He is on trial over suspicions that the expenses for an opinion poll conducted by political broker Myung Tae-gyun were illegally paid by someone else. During the trial, Mayor Oh denied all charges, arguing that there was no reason to commission a mayoral poll to a small local company and that any involvement by acquaintances was unrelated to him.

Mayor Oh said, "Sitting in court all day as the Mayor of Seoul, I could not help but feel devastated. I should be dedicating my precious time to managing the lives of 10 million citizens and tackling the many urgent city issues, yet I have to spend the entire day in court," he lamented.

He continued, "There is only one reason for this: the worst 'tailored special prosecution,' which has succeeded in making it a crime to recognize and reject the fraud of a criminal group. This is the result of thoroughly and faithfully carrying out the political mission assigned to him," Mayor Oh stated.

Mayor Oh also remarked, "Yesterday's court session featured some truly interesting testimonies. The Future Korea Institute was essentially a criminal group disguised as a polling firm. The structure is clear: Myung Tae-gyun is the real owner, and profits are split equally in thirds among Myung Tae-gyun, Kang Hye-kyung, and Kim Tae-yeol, as they confessed."

He added, "The division of roles was almost artistic: Myung Tae-gyun is the 'expert' who meets candidates outside and targets them for fraud; Kang Hye-kyung is the 'expert' who manipulates and inflates the polling numbers from inside; and Kim Tae-yeol is the 'expert' who takes sole legal responsibility whenever something happens. Reportedly, this is why he has multiple criminal records."

Mayor Oh said, "Yesterday, Kang Hye-kyung's testimony was essentially a series of confessions. She admitted to manipulation, inflation, and deception throughout her testimony. As befitting the Democratic Party's 'public interest whistleblower,' she proudly testified in court to being an accomplice to the crimes. Furthermore, she repeatedly declared that she would accept punishment for the acts of poll manipulation led by Myung Tae-gyun."

Mayor Oh pointed out, "Despite these public confessions, no investigative agency in Korea is investigating or indicting any of them."

He continued, "The Oh Se-hoon campaign quickly saw through and rejected this fraudulent scheme. Yet, the special prosecutor, even with evidence of manipulation and fraud in hand, is punishing only those who nearly fell victim and rejected the fraud, while leaving the real criminals alone. They prosecuted the victim while letting the perpetrator go. This is the reality of the Min Jung-ki special prosecution," he criticized.

Mayor Oh also said, "From now on, I will have to attend court throughout the local election period and watch this parade of confessions from the front row. This is the result of the tailored special prosecutor so diligently fulfilling their mission. I might even have to thank them," he remarked sarcastically.

He added, "This Min Jung-ki special prosecution will go down as the worst special prosecution in the constitutional history of the Republic of Korea. But no matter how much power tries to obscure justice, the truth will soon become clear."

Meanwhile, Mayor Oh, upon appearing in court the previous day, expressed regret, saying, "This case became public from September 2024, and I repeatedly called for a swift investigation by the investigative agencies and the prosecution, but ultimately, that did not happen. Instead, the timing of the special prosecution matched exactly with the election and trial periods."

Under the Special Prosecution Act, the verdict for the first trial must be delivered within six months from the date of indictment. As Mayor Oh was indicted on December 1 of last year, the first trial verdict must be handed down by June. The local election, for which Mayor Oh is running, is scheduled for June 3.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.