Judge Who Acquitted Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon Accused of Legal Distortion

In the appeal case regarding the alleged illegal funding of a public opinion poll, Judge Koo Hwa-geun of the Seoul High Court, who acquitted Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon, has been accused of legal distortion.

On the 28th, lawyer Kim Kyung-ho filed a complaint against Judge Koo with the Serious Crimes Investigation Agency, alleging legal distortion.

Kim, who represented former Marine Corps investigation chief Park Jeong-hoon during the investigation into alleged external pressure in the death of Cha Sang-byeong, claimed that the interpretation of the law in Oh's appeal contradicted existing Supreme Court precedents.

In the complaint, Kim stated, "Despite the Supreme Court's existing precedent that considers funding a politician's political activities as a donation under the Political Fund Law, Judge Koo only cited the lack of a request from Mayor Oh to deny the recognition of the funding as a donation. This constitutes intentional legal distortion."

He also added that the judge interpreted the law in a manner that was unilaterally favorable to the defendant without properly specifying the grounds for overturning the guilty verdict from the first trial.

On the same day, the civic group Judicial Justice Restoration Citizen Action (Sasaehang) also filed a complaint against Judge Koo with the Serious Crimes Investigation Agency for legal distortion and abuse of authority. They explained, "The judge abused his judicial authority by applying a biased legal interpretation that is difficult for the general public to accept, resulting in a ruling favorable to certain politicians from specific parties."

The criminal division 7 of the Seoul High Court, presided over by Judge Koo, acquitted Mayor Oh on the 23rd, who had previously been sentenced to a fine of 10 million won, equivalent to a loss of his mayoral position, for violating the Political Fund Law.

Earlier, on the 7th, the same court overturned the guilty verdict in the appeal of former President Yoon Suk-yeol, who was indicted for receiving free public opinion poll results from Nam Tae-kyun. The first trial had viewed this as receiving a financial benefit equivalent to the cost of the poll, but the second trial deemed it a mere political assistance act.