SEOUL – The mayor of South Korea's Seoul faced losing his office after being fined for the political funds act violation linked to illegal polling, according to local media on Wednesday.

The Seoul Central District Court sentenced Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon to a fine of 10 million won ($6,760), a ruling that could strip him of his mayoral office if upheld by the Supreme Court.

The court said the mayor commissioned opinion polls while his supporter paid the expenses, ruling that the polling costs covered by Oh's supporter constituted illegal political funds.

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The team of Min Joong-ki, a special counsel who led an investigation into corruption allegations involving former president Yoon Suk-yeol and his wife Kim Keon-hee, sought a one-and-a-half-year sentence for Oh.

The major reportedly announced his plan to appeal the court's ruling.

Oh was indicted without detention in December 2025 on charges of receiving opinion poll results on 10 occasions ahead of the Seoul mayoral by-election in 2021 from self-proclaimed political broker Myung Tae-kyun and having his long-time financial supporter, Kim Han-jung, cover the costs.

If he is fined over 1 million won (about $665) in the final ruling expected by the end of this year, he will lose his mayoral post.

On July 13, Yoon was sentenced to two years in jail for conspiring with his wife to receive customized opinion polls free of charge from the same political broker on 58 occasions ahead of the 2022 presidential election.