▲ An undated file photo of Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon (Yonhap)

Seoul mayor-trial

1st trial on Seoul mayor's 'proxy poll payment' to be held March 4

SEOUL, Jan. 28 (Yonhap) -- The first formal trial on Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon's suspected proxy payment of opinion poll expenses will be held on March 4 and continue at two-week intervals thereafter, a court said Wednesday.

The Seoul Central District Court set the trial schedule for Oh, his longtime supporter Kim Han-jung and former Seoul Deputy Mayor Kang Cheol-won during a preparatory hearing on the case earlier Wednesday.

Oh was indicted by a special counsel team on charges of getting Kim to pay 33 million won (US$22,400) on his behalf to Myung Tae-kyun, a self-proclaimed power broker, for 10 public opinion surveys conducted from January to February 2021.

Oh, who denied the accusations, has requested that his trial schedule be set to minimize political repercussions in connection with June's local elections.

In the first and second formal trials, Kang Hye-kyung, who first disclosed the proxy payment suspicions, and Myung are scheduled to attend their respective witness interrogation.

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