'False Publicity Material' Gominjeong Election Campaign Headquarters Chief Sentenced to 800,000 Won Fine

[Asia Economy Reporter Lee Jung-yoon] A current Seoul city council member who was prosecuted for including false information in the election pamphlet of Go Min-jeong, a Democratic Party of Korea lawmaker, during last year's 21st general election, has been sentenced to a fine.

The Criminal Division 11 of the Seoul Eastern District Court (Presiding Judge Yoon Kyung-ah) on the 2nd sentenced Kim (44), who was indicted for violating the Public Official Election Act, to a fine of 800,000 won.

The court stated, "It is reasonable to consider that the defendant, who effectively oversaw the production of the election pamphlet, was at least implicitly aware that Mr. A did not make the endorsement statement," and added, "It is necessary to punish violations to ensure that elections are conducted fairly through democratic procedures." However, the court also noted, "Due to unclear division of duties and command-reporting structures, it is difficult to attribute the offense solely to the defendant, and it does not appear that the false information was deliberately included."

Between March and April of last year, Kim, who worked as the head of the election headquarters at Go's campaign, was prosecuted for including a photo and statement of Mr. A, a resident autonomy committee member and local merchants' association president, in the election pamphlet without consent.

The pamphlet included a statement attributed to Mr. A saying, "If there were only 10 lawmakers like Go Min-jeong, South Korea would be a wonderful place to live," but Mr. A claimed that he never expressed support for Go nor permitted the inclusion of this statement in the pamphlet.

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