Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon said on the 23rd that he would "work even harder to repay the trust that citizens have placed in me" after an appeals court ruled on charges that he violated the Political Funds Act.
Speaking outside the courtroom at the Seoul High Court after the ruling, Oh said many people had refused to withdraw their trust in him even while he was under suspicion during the trial. "Thanks to them, I was able to hold on, keep working and go through the proceedings," he said.
Oh also thanked Seoul residents for their support. "I am sincerely grateful to the people of Seoul who trusted me and voted to let me serve again as mayor, even though the trial was under way when the election was held," he said.
"I should conduct my public duties more flawlessly and carefully than anyone, and I am truly sorry and apologetic for having been seen appearing before prosecutors and the court," he said. "I will make sure to conduct myself more carefully going forward."
The Seoul High Court's Criminal Division 7, presided over by Ku Hoe-keun, acquitted Oh of the political funds charges. Oh had been indicted on charges that he commissioned opinion polls from political broker Myung Tae-kyun ahead of the 2021 Seoul mayoral by-election and had a supporter pay the costs on his behalf. The lower court had found him guilty on some of the charges and imposed a fine of 10 million won.