TBS '#1Hapsida' Campaign Public Official Election Act Violation Case Investigated at Seoul Mapo Police Station

Seoul Mapo Police Station logo / Photo by Asia Economy DB

[Asia Economy Reporter Jeong Dong-hoon] The police are investigating a case of violation of the Public Official Election Act related to TBS's '#1Hapsida' subscription encouragement campaign.

On the 13th, according to the Association of Judicial Examination Preparatory Students (Sajunmo), the Criminal Division 5 of the Seoul Western District Prosecutors' Office (Chief Prosecutor Choi Myung-gyu) recently transferred the case reported by this organization to the Seoul Mapo Police Station.

On the 5th, Sajunmo submitted a complaint to the Supreme Prosecutors' Office requesting punishment for TBS CEO Lee Kang-taek, the campaign producer, and the person responsible for promotion on charges of violating the Public Official Election Act, stating that the '#1Hapsida' campaign, which could be mistaken for the Democratic Party's election number 1 ahead of the by-election, was produced and promoted by TBS. The Supreme Prosecutors' Office transferred the case to the Seoul Western District Prosecutors' Office on the 8th, and the Seoul Western District Prosecutors' Office assigned the case to Criminal Division 5 on the 11th.

Since November last year, TBS had been running the '#1Hapsida' campaign aiming to reach 1 million YouTube subscribers, featuring program hosts such as Kim Eo-jun, Joo Jin-woo, and Kim Gyu-ri. However, after the opposition raised concerns about political bias and controversy erupted, the campaign was halted on the 4th.

The Central Election Commission stated on the 8th that although the campaign "could cause misunderstanding," it did not constitute a preliminary election campaign.

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