The trial of Choo Kyung-ho, the elected mayor of Daegu, on charges of insurrection has been postponed again. In contrast, the trial of Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon for violating political funding laws will proceed as scheduled on June 10.
According to legal sources on June 9, the Seoul Central District Court's Criminal Division 34, led by Judge Han Seong-jin, has rescheduled the hearing for Choo's case, initially set for June 10, to June 17.
The change in date follows the submission of an absence notice by Ahn Cheol-soo, a member of the People Power Party, who was designated as a witness. Choo's legal team argued that the trial could not effectively proceed without Ahn's presence and requested the change on June 8.
Choo's team stated, "We requested the date change due to the possibility of the trial being delayed because of Ahn's absence, not due to any issues on Choo's part."
Choo was indicted in December of last year. Prosecutors allege that during a state of emergency, he, as the then-leader of the People Power Party, obstructed a vote on a proposal to lift the emergency declaration by repeatedly changing the location of a party meeting at the request of former President Yoon Suk-yeol.
Meanwhile, Oh Se-hoon's trial for violating political funding laws will take place as planned on June 10. Oh's legal team initially sought a postponement due to a scheduling conflict with the Seoul City Council, but they decided to withdraw the request after the council's schedule was pushed back.
The Seoul Central District Court's Criminal Division 22, presided over by Judge Jo Hyung-woo, had previously canceled all trial dates in May to accommodate the local election schedule and postponed the hearings until after the elections.
On June 17, the court is expected to conduct a hearing for Oh, including questioning of the defendant and final opinions from the special prosecutor's team led by Min Jung-ki, along with sentencing recommendations.
Oh is facing charges for allegedly receiving polling results from political broker Myung-tae Kyun ten times before the 2021 Seoul mayoral by-election, with related costs covered by a business sponsor.
* This article has been translated by AI.
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