Busan's Buk-gu District Mayor Oh Tae-won Fined for Violating Election Law

Busan's Buk-gu District Mayor Oh Tae-won has been fined KRW 5 million by prosecutors on charges of violating the Public Official Election Act. If the court imposes a fine of KRW 1 million or more in the first trial, Mayor Oh's election will be nullified. Oh has denied the allegations, stating that the incident occurred due to staff errors and that there was no intent.

Criminal Trial Division 1 of the Western Branch of Busan District Court held a sentencing hearing for Mayor Oh, who was charged with violating the Public Official Election Act, on the afternoon of the 9th. Prosecutors demanded a fine of KRW 5 million for Mayor Oh.

According to the prosecution, Mayor Oh is accused of instructing a construction company employee to send promotional text messages to residents using their mobile phone numbers before registering as a preliminary candidate in December 2021.

The prosecution believes that Mayor Oh influenced the election by sending 232,270 promotional text messages to Buk-gu residents in three rounds. At that time, the messages included the phrase "Have a warm year-end. Warm Buk-gu people, Oh Tae-won's story," along with photos and article links of Mayor Oh signing a KRW 10 billion public housing management agreement with Yangsan City during his tenure as the construction company's representative.

In addition to the text messages, Mayor Oh is also accused of underreporting his assets ahead of the local election. The prosecution alleges that although he held assets worth KRW 16.849 billion, he failed to report or undervalued a total of 10 items, including four real estate properties, three unlisted stocks, and three golf memberships. Mayor Oh previously reported his assets as KRW 4.710 billion during the last election.

In response, Mayor Oh stated, "It was my staff who sent the messages in bulk, not me personally," and "The purpose of the text messages was to create a good society and promote a culture of donation, not to campaign for election support."

Regarding the underreporting and omission of assets, Mayor Oh said, "There was a mistake in reporting the face value instead of the appraisal value, and it seems that some parts were missed while the staff were organizing the system." He also emphasized, "There was no intention to influence the election, nor any malicious intent."

The first trial verdict for Mayor Oh Tae-won is scheduled for the afternoon of the 25th at the Busan District Court's Western Branch.

In accordance with Article 18 of the Public Official Election Act, if the court imposes a fine exceeding KRW 1 million, Mayor Oh's election will be nullified. This article describes disfranchised persons, including those who commit election crimes or violate the Political Fund Act or related laws. It also outlines separate trial and sentencing procedures for individuals who concurrently commit such crimes and other offenses.