Prosecutors from the special counsel team investigating former first lady Kim Keon-hee asked an appeals court to sentence Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon to one year and six months in prison over allegations that a third party paid for his polling costs in a case tied to pollster Myung Tae-kyun.
The team, headed by Special Counsel Min Joong-ki, made the request on the 2nd at the final hearing of Oh's appeal on charges of violating the Political Funds Act, held before the 7th Criminal Division of the Seoul High Court under presiding judge Ku Hoe-keun. The special counsel also sought the forfeiture of 33 million won. The request matches the sentence the team sought in the first trial.
Prosecutors sought one-year prison terms each for Kang Chul-won, a former Seoul vice mayor for political affairs and a close aide to Oh, and a businessman surnamed Kim who had donated to the mayor.
"Oh is an influential politician who, more than anyone, was in a position to comply with the Political Funds Act, yet he allowed polling costs closely tied to his political activity to be paid by a third party without going through proper procedures," the special counsel team said. "This has damaged public trust in the rule of law."
