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Seoul Mayor Oh appears before special counsel team over polling expenses allegations

Published: 08 Nov. 2025, 11:44

Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon speaks to reporters in front of the KT Gwanghwamun West Building in Jongno District, Seoul, on the morning of Nov. 8, before undergoing questioning over allegations related to first lady Kim Keon Hee.

Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon, who faces allegations of having his polling expenses illegally paid for, appeared Saturday before the special counsel team led by Min Jung-ki, which is also investigating various allegations involving former first lady Kim Keon Hee.

Oh was summoned as a suspect on charges of violating the Political Funds Act and arrived that morning at the special counsel’s office in the KT Gwanghwamun West Building in Jongno District, central Seoul. It was his first summons since the investigation began on July 2.

Holding up a news article before reporters, Oh said, “The article states that most of the unpublished opinion polls supposedly provided to our campaign by Myung Tae-kyun were fabricated,” adding, “Forensic analysis has also confirmed that such polls were never regularly shared with [Yoon Suk Yeol's] campaign.”

The special counsel is expected to question Oh extensively about allegations that his polling expenses were paid by a third party and to conduct a face-to-face cross-examination between Oh and political broker Myung Tae-kyun, who appeared around the same time as a witness.

The case centers on claims that during the April 2021 Seoul mayoral by-election, the Mirae Korea Research Institute — a polling firm effectively run by Myung — conducted 13 unpublished surveys costing 33 million won, and that Oh’s longtime supporter Kim Han-jung helped cover the expenses.

Myung has asserted that he met Oh seven times during the election period and that Oh told him, “Please save me."

Oh has denied all allegations.

JEONG HYE-JEONG [[email protected]]