5th-term Seoul mayor fights for political survival

Just weeks after winning an unprecedented fifth term as Seoul mayor, Oh Se-hoon now finds himself fighting for his political survival after a Seoul court fined him 10 million won ($6,820) Wednesday for violating the Political Funds Act, a sentence that would cost him his mayoralty if upheld. Under the special counsel law's "6-3-3 rule," the case must clear the appeals court within three months and the Supreme Court within another three. With the first ruling handed down Wednesday, the appeals court would technically be required to rule by Oct.

22, with the Supreme Court completing its review by Jan. 22. If that timetable holds, Oh could learn within six months whether he remains Seoul mayor and whether he retains any realistic path to the presidency.

The Seoul Central District Court found Oh guilty of receiving polling results from political broker Myung Tae-kyun ahead of the 2021 mayoral by-election and having businessman Kim Han-jung cover part of the cost. Of 10 polls cited by prosecutors, the court found that Oh had commissioned five — three private polls and two published polls