Opposition: "President's Visit to Gadeokdo Violates Public Official Election Act"

"MOIS Data Specified as Grounds for Presidential Impeachment"

Bae Jun-young, Spokesperson for the People Power Party [Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Park Jun-yi] The People Power Party launched an offensive, claiming that President Moon Jae-in's visit to Busan may constitute a violation of the Public Official Election Act.

On the morning of the 26th, Bae Jun-young, spokesperson for the People Power Party, raised his voice through a commentary on the previous day's visit by President Moon to Busan, stating, "The president's duty of neutrality regarding fair elections must be strictly upheld."

Spokesperson Bae criticized, "It is shocking to see key figures of the state administration, including the president and ruling party officials, blatantly begging for votes in Busan," adding, "It appears to be a blatant violation of the election law."

He then referred to the contents of the "Standards of Conduct for Public Officials under the Public Official Election Act," published by the Ministry of the Interior and Safety in October 2012, pointing out that President Moon's visit to Busan about 40 days before the by-election could be grounds for the president's impeachment.

According to the document, public officials, including the president, are prohibited from engaging in political activities that violate the duty of election neutrality as stipulated in Article 9 of the Public Official Election Act. Article 9 (Duty of Neutrality of Public Officials, etc.) clearly states that public officials cannot "exercise undue influence on elections or engage in other acts that affect election results."

Spokesperson Bae further emphasized, "The Chairman of the Central Election Commission, as the last bastion of the Public Official Election Act, must send a clear warning message to the government and ruling party regarding yesterday's trip to Busan and various vote-buying activities."

Meanwhile, on the same morning, Ha Tae-kyung, a member of the People Power Party, appeared on CBS's 'Kim Hyun-jung's News Show' and said, "The president's intentions are obvious," adding, "I think it was inappropriate behavior by the president to visit ahead of the election." However, he added, "Busan citizens are not the kind whose evaluation of the government will completely change just because he came there once," and "there is no need to worry too much about it."

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