Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon speaks during a plan announcement in Seoul, March 19. Yonhap

Prosecutors on Thursday raided Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon's office and residence over allegations of corruption surrounding his ties with self-proclaimed power broker Myung Tae-kyun.

The Seoul Central District Prosecutors Office sent prosecutors and investigators to Oh's office at Seoul City Hall and his residence in the morning to search for possible evidence linked to the allegations. They also raided the residence of Kang Cheol-won, the city's former deputy mayor for public affairs.

The prosecution 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of Oh, asked the Future Korea Research Institute, a polling company effectively operated by Myung, to conduct 13 unpublished opinion polls during the 2021 Seoul mayoral by-election campaign and paid 33 million won ($22,650) in polling costs on behalf of the Seoul mayor.

Kim allegedly sent the money to the personal account of Kang Hye-kyung, who served as deputy head of the polling company, on five occasions between February and March 2021.

The Seoul prosecution has so far summoned Kim and Oh's aides, including Kang, for questioning over the alleged connection with Myung after taking over the case about a month ago from the Changwon District Prosecutors Office in the southeastern city of Changwon, where Myung and the polling company are based.

Myung has alleged that he met Oh seven times and had a three-way meeting involving Kim and he played an important role in Oh's election win at that time.

Oh and Kim have both denied the allegations. Oh, who filed a complaint with the prosecution against the broker late last year, accusing him of fraud, said he met Myung twice in January 2021 but severed ties with him later.

Kim has reportedly admitted to sending money to Myung's side but insisted it has nothing to do with Oh's campaign. (Yonhap)