What Do You Think About Excluding Heo Kyung-young from the "Look Into My Eyes" Poll?

"IQ 430... Levitation and Chukjibeop"
"Communicating with Aliens..."
Supporters of Huh Kyung-young Crowd the Election Commission, "Why Are We Excluded from Polls?" Chaos
Election Commission: "Candidate Lists Are Decided by Polling Firms... Unrelated to Election Commission"

Honorary Representative Heo Kyung-young of the National Revolutionary Party completed his registration as a preliminary candidate for the 20th presidential election on the morning of October 18 last year at the Gwacheon Central Election Commission and is responding to cheers surrounded by supporters dressed in "Squid Game" costumes.
[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Han Seung-gon] Supporters of Heo Kyung-young, the presidential candidate of the National Revolutionary Party, were booked by the police after causing a disturbance for nearly an hour at a regional office of the National Election Commission. On the 18th, they visited the Gwanak office of the National Election Commission (NEC) and caused a commotion, demanding, "Why is presidential candidate Heo Kyung-young excluded from the opinion polls?" and refused to leave when asked.

The NEC stated that there was no problem at all. An NEC official emphasized, "The list of candidates is determined by each polling agency, so it is unrelated to the NEC, but this explanation was of no use."

Opinions among citizens are divided over this situation. Kim, a company employee in his 30s, said, "Didn't Heo Kyung-young's support rate surpass that of the Justice Party?" and added, "I think we should properly listen to the claims made by Heo Kyung-young's side."

According to the results announced on the 18th by Media Tomato, a survey agency, commissioned by News Tomato, which conducted a six-candidate contest poll on 1,020 adults nationwide aged 18 and over from the 15th to 16th, the results were as follows: Yoon Seok-youl (42.5%), Lee Jae-myung (35.6%), Ahn Cheol-soo (10.9%), Heo Kyung-young (3.0%), Shim Sang-jung (2.7%), and Kim Dong-yeon (0.7%). This survey was conducted using wireless ARS (automatic response system) with virtual phone numbers (safe numbers) on mobile phones. For more details, refer to the National Election Opinion Survey Deliberation Commission website.

On the other hand, there are opinions that Heo should be excluded from the polls. Kim, a worker in his 40s, said, "The presidential candidate says he can levitate; does that seem normal?" and emphasized, "This is something you can think about with common sense." He added, "Isn't he just a weirdo?" and said, "I don't think he can handle important tasks like running the country."

Huh Kyung-young, the presidential candidate of the National Revolutionary Party, is riding a white horse and moving toward the presidential election launch event in front of the Haengju Fortress Great Victory Gate in Goyang-si, Gyeonggi-do, on August 18 last year.
[Image source=Yonhap News]

As citizens worry, candidate Heo has become famous for various eccentric behaviors. He claims his IQ is 430, that he can levitate and perform chukjibeop (a mythical Korean technique of instantaneous movement), and even that he can communicate with aliens.

Heo was also prosecuted in 2007 for spreading false information, such as claiming he was going to marry former President Park Geun-hye, and was sentenced to one year and six months in prison and deprived of his right to run for office for ten years.

Meanwhile, the so-called "Heo Kyung-young phone calls" have also become controversial. Park, a worker in his 20s, said, "I recently received a call from Heo Kyung-young," and pointed out, "Since the calls come at any time, it feels like an invasion of privacy." He raised his voice, saying, "It's absurd to receive Heo Kyung-young calls during busy times."

Huh Kyung-young, Presidential Candidate of the National Revolutionary Party

However, the Heo Kyung-young calls do not violate election laws. It is illegal only if the calls contain content supporting or opposing a specific candidate, but these calls do not include such content. It is also difficult to consider them as personal information infringement. The candidate's election office does not obtain specific phone numbers to make calls; instead, a service company randomly extracts phone numbers and makes calls in a manner similar to opinion polling.

Nevertheless, citizens are truly frustrated by the incessant calls. Choi, a worker in his 30s, said, "I thought it was an urgent call and answered, but it was a call from Heo Kyung-young," and pointed out, "I felt very empty." He added, "It really stresses me out. Please stop calling."

Continuing his various eccentric behaviors, candidate Heo recently offered words of consolation to Shim Sang-jung, the Justice Party presidential candidate who is experiencing stagnant support. On the 13th, he posted on his Facebook, "If Heo Kyung-young is elected president, I will appoint candidate Shim Sang-jung as honorary vice president with ministerial appointment rights proportional to her votes," and said, "Don't be discouraged."

Meanwhile, regarding the disturbance caused by Heo Kyung-young supporters at the NEC, Heo issued a statement on the 19th, the day after the incident, urging the National Election Commission to address unfair election management and correct the issue.

Heo stated, "I express serious concern over the NEC's behavior of mobilizing police power on January 17 to detain supporters of Heo Kyung-young, the National Revolutionary Party presidential candidate, who were urging correction of unfair election management by the NEC," and condemned, "The NEC's use of police force is not only an act that threatens the constitutionally guaranteed freedom of expression but also a violent act that shakes the foundation of liberal democracy."

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