NSSC: "Party Member List Leak Not Illegal"... Lee Jun-seok: "Does Not Meet Party Members' Expectations"

Candidate Lee Jun-seok, who is running for the leader of the People Power Party, is attending a debate held on the 8th at the Baekbeom Kim Koo Memorial Hall in Hyochang-dong, Yongsan-gu, Seoul. Photo by the National Assembly Press Photographers Group

[Asia Economy Reporter Park Jun-yi] It has come to light that mass text messages defaming former Supreme Council member and People Power Party leadership candidate Lee Jun-seok were sent to party members, emerging as a new issue in the final phase of the party convention. As competition among candidates intensifies three days before the convention, concerns have been raised that unfair methods are being employed.

On the morning of the 8th, the People Power Party Election Commission, after discussing in a meeting, told reporters, "We have attempted to call the sender of the messages twenty times but have received no response," adding, "We will continue to verify the facts."

The previous day, former Supreme Council member Lee raised the issue on CBS Radio's 'Kim Hyun-jung's News Show,' stating, "There is evidence that a list was leaked from another candidate's side, and an individual in a conservative organization sent text messages to over 300,000 party members." The text messages sent to People Power Party members on the 6th included titles such as "Lee Jun-seok is dangerous" along with links to YouTube videos defaming Lee. Lee's side has requested the Election Commission to initiate an investigation.

Some have pointed out that if it is confirmed that the texts were sent with the intent to defame a candidate, it could constitute a violation of election law. According to Article 251 of the Public Official Election Act (Defamation of Candidates), anyone who defames another candidate through speeches, broadcasts, newspapers, communications, etc., with the intent to help or prevent their election, may face imprisonment of up to three years or a fine of up to 5 million won.

However, the Election Commission stated that there is no indication of a violation. The commission explained, "The criteria for electing the party leader at the convention are not subject to the Public Official Election Act," and "The Political Parties Act does not include a defamation clause against candidates."

Additionally, the leak of the party member list to individuals through a candidate's camp has sparked controversy. On the previous day, People Power Party lawmaker Joo Ho-young said on CBS Radio, "If it was leaked to a personal number, that is a problem," and even if the numbers leaked were anonymized, "the anonymized numbers given to each candidate's camp are supposed to be used only within the camp, so if they went outside the camp, responsibility must be taken."

After review by the party's legal advisory group, the Election Commission holds the position that it is difficult to consider this a violation of the Personal Information Protection Act. The commission stated, "Personal information must be identifiable to an individual, but the election list only contains anonymized safe numbers," and concluded, "It cannot be regarded as a violation of the Personal Information Protection Act."

Regarding the Election Commission's stance, former Supreme Council member Lee met with reporters immediately after the 'People Power Party Leader TV Debate' held at the Baekbeom Kim Koo Memorial Hall in Yongsan-gu, Seoul, on the same day, saying, "If anonymized numbers are not considered personal information, it does not meet the expectations of party members," and countered, "If inappropriate methods were used in the election process to campaign against candidates, the Election Commission should make a strict judgment."

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