Seoul mayor to confront power broker in special counsel questioning

Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon attends a parliamentary inspection of the Seoul city government in Seoul, Thursday. Yonhap

Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon is expected to attend a face-to-face questioning against self-proclaimed power broker Myung Tae-kyun before special counsel investigators probing their corruption allegations next month, Myung said Thursday.

Myung told reporters during his visit to Seoul City Hall to attend a parliamentary inspection session that a confrontational questioning between him and Oh is slated for 10 a.m. on Nov. 8 at the office of special counsel Min Joong-ki.

Aides to the Seoul mayor also confirmed the schedule, saying Oh has personally requested the face-to-face questioning with Myung to reveal the truth.

The special counsel has been looking into the suspicion that Kim Han-jung, a businessman known to be a supporter of Oh, asked the Future Korea Research Institute, a polling company effectively operated by Myung, to conduct 13 unpublished opinion polls during the 2021 Seoul mayoral by-election campaign and paid 33 million won ($22,650) in polling costs on behalf of the Seoul mayor.

Oh and his lawyers have denied the allegations, calling for a swift investigation into the case.

It has been reported that Min's team had asked Oh to appear at its office earlier this month for questioning about his alleged violation of the political fund law. But the mayor has reportedly declined the summons, instead asking for a confrontational questioning against Myung.