From Poster Vandalism to Indiscriminate Assaults... Candidates Threatened Until the Final Moments of the Election

Former National Assembly member Lee Jae-oh is campaigning in support of Hong Joon-pyo, an independent candidate running in the Suseong electoral district, at Suseong Lake in Daegu on the 11th.
[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Heo Midam] As the April 15 general election approaches, incidents disrupting election campaigns are occurring one after another. Not only are election posters being damaged, but the methods of crime are becoming more violent, including wielding weapons at the scene.

On the 13th, an incident occurred where Hong Joon-pyo, an independent candidate (Daegu Suseong), was threatened with a golf club by a man during a morning campaign. A man in his 40s, Mr. A, approached candidate Hong at around 7:30 a.m. at Doosan Five-way Intersection in Suseong-gu during the campaign, suddenly placed a cola bottle in front of him, and threatened him with a golf club. When a campaign worker intervened, Mr. A fled by car.

After the incident, candidate Hong stated on his Facebook, "I have already experienced several assassination attempts during the Dongdaemun election, so I do not even blink," adding, "I would not enter this tough election without that kind of courage." The police have apprehended Mr. A and are investigating the details of the incident.

The day before, there was also an indiscriminate assault incident targeting a candidate. On the 12th at around 5:50 p.m., Lee Chang-hee, an independent candidate (Gyeongnam Jinju-eul), was campaigning by car near the industrial rotary in Jinju City when a man in his 40s, Mr. B, climbed onto the vehicle and assaulted him. It is reported that candidate Lee received treatment at a nearby hospital.

On the 9th, a man in his 60s in Daegu was arrested by the police on charges of obstructing election campaigning by climbing onto the campaign vehicle of Cho Myeong-rae, the Justice Party candidate (Daegu Buk-gu Gap), and pushing him. The man reportedly said, "This is Park Geun-hye's neighborhood. Why are you campaigning here?"

Election disruption acts with misogynistic intent targeting candidates who have declared themselves feminists are also continuing. Shin Ji-ye, an independent candidate running in Seoul Seodaemun Gap, stated in a press release on the 12th, "Election posters were severely damaged using tools such as lighters," and added, "I view this incident as widespread misogyny in Korean society."

Earlier, on the 7th, the election poster of Shin Min-ju, the Basic Income Party candidate (Seoul Eunpyeong-eul), who used the slogan "Your Feminist," was damaged. At that time, candidate Shin said on her Twitter, "Since only posters in alleys without CCTV were damaged, it appears to be a highly planned crime," and "Posters of other male candidates posted right next to it remained intact."

Under the Public Official Election Act, assaulting or threatening candidates or election campaign workers is punishable by imprisonment of up to 10 years or a fine between 5 million and 30 million won. On the 9th, the police applied charges of special intimidation and violation of the Public Official Election Act against a man in his 50s who threatened Oh Se-hoon, the United Future Party candidate (Seoul Gwangjin-eul), with a weapon in Jayang-dong, Gwangjin-gu, Seoul, and requested an arrest warrant.

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