Buena Park councilman headed to trial on perjury charge

SANTA ANA – Buena Park Councilman Sangjin Miller Oh is set to stand trial Sept. 11 on suspicion of five felony counts of perjury.

A court referee set aside one count Wednesday after a preliminary hearing on charges that Oh used a false social security number to obtain a driver's license in order to avoid paying child support.

Buena Park Councilman Sangjin Miller Oh listens to speakers at the groundbreaking for The Source at Beach in Buena Park earlier this month. Oh is set to go to trial on charges of five felony counts of perjury in September.

PAUL BERSEBACH, THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER

Prosecutors allege that Oh answered an ad in a Korean newspaper and paid $300 for a false Social Security number to obtain a driver's license to replace his suspended license. Oh is accused of using the false license to purchase – and register – vehicles from several cities, including Buena Park and Riverside.

Department of Motor Vehicles investigator Francisco Paredes testified that Oh applied for his alternate license under the name Robert Oh, the councilman's Catholic name.

"He said he needed his driver's license," Paredes said.

Court Referee Michael J. Pear set aside the charge involving the car bought in Riverside, saying he did not find enough proof that a crime was committed in Orange County.

Oh remains free on a $25,000 bond. After the hearing, he and his attorney Steve Baric declined to comment.

The charges Oh is accused of occurred before he was elected to the Buena Park City Council in 2010, but Deputy District Attorney John Christl said it was disappointing that Oh ran for council.

"It makes you think about who is being elected," Christl said. "He's deceived and he's not honest."

If convicted, Oh faces up to five years and eight months in state prison.

Contact the writer: 714-704-3704 or efields@ocregister.com

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