Minister's Face Superimposed on 'Nude Photo'... Election Banner Controversy

Pre-candidate: "Reasonable Expression Reflecting Unreasonable House Prices and Sale Prices"
Seogu: "Illegal Banners to Be Fined"

On the 13th, the Gwangju Election Commission announced that over the past weekend, a large banner featuring a nude photo of a woman combined with the faces of a current minister and local government heads was hung on the exterior wall of a five-story building in Pungam-dong, Seo-gu, Gwangju. Photo by Yonhap News

[Asia Economy Intern Reporter Kim Suwan] A man in his 40s who registered as a preliminary candidate for the National Assembly in the Gwangju area hung a provocative banner criticizing the government's real estate policy, which was removed by authorities. The banner also contained content defaming a specific political party, sparking controversy.

On the 13th, the Gwangju City Election Commission announced that over the past weekend, a large banner featuring a nude photo of a woman and faces of a current minister and a local government head were displayed on the exterior wall of a five-story building in Pungam-dong, Seo-gu, Gwangju. The banner reportedly covered the entire exterior wall of the building.

The banner included provocative phrases such as "Crazy house prices, crazy sale prices, we will remove them with tweezers."

In particular, the banner combined the face of a current minister in charge of real estate policy onto a nude drawing that had previously caused controversy for satirizing former President Park Geun-hye. Additionally, the face of Gwangju Mayor Lee Yong-seop was inserted into a composite image where key areas were covered with an octopus shape.

The banner was reportedly installed by Mr. A, who registered as a preliminary candidate for Seo-gu Eul. The banners have since been removed.

Mr. A reportedly claimed, "Preliminary candidates can freely attach promotional materials to the exterior walls of their election office buildings," and described it as "a legitimate promotional material expressing unreasonable house prices and sale prices."

Netizens who heard the news responded with various comments such as, "What kind of person is running for National Assembly? The level is obvious," "Isn't this freedom of expression?" "If some are allowed and others are not, that's not democracy but communism," and "That is really unacceptable."

Seo-gu plans to impose a fine on Mr. A for hanging the illegal banner.

The Gwangju City Election Commission stated, "We will review the content of the promotional material and examine whether it violates election laws."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.