Defamation of Candidates Yoon and Lee in Open Chat Rooms... Election Commission Turns a Blind Eye

"Difficult to Recognize 'Candidate Defamation'... 'Can't Citizens Even Debate?'
Central Election Commission Monitors Twitter, Facebook, Daum Cafes, etc."

On the 3rd, during the joint invitation '2022 Presidential Candidate Debate' hosted by the three major broadcasting stations, Lee Jae-myung, the Democratic Party presidential candidate (left), is returning to his seat after a commemorative photo session. On the right is Yoon Seok-youl, the People Power Party presidential candidate. [Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Jang Sehee] Recently, with continuous defamation of presidential candidates in open chat rooms, these spaces have become blind spots for election law enforcement.

On the 17th, Asia Economy checked KakaoTalk open chat rooms and found dozens, including ‘20th Presidential Election Free Discussion Room,’ ‘Until the Democratic Party and People Power Party Candidates Are Replaced,’ and ‘Election-Related Political Theme Stocks.’ Participants ranged from around 50 to several hundred.

KakaoTalk open chat rooms allow participation without revealing one’s identity. Due to the lack of transparency, acts such as defamation of candidates are occurring.

Mr. A said, "Are you saying the party with the most seats should have the president? That’s not true." Mr. B said, "Yoon Seok-yeol might be worse than Park Geun-hye, or at least not better." As defamatory posts about specific candidates continued, Mr. C posted, "It’s your freedom to choose whoever you want, so let’s not force anyone."

Defamation of Candidates Punishable by Up to 3 Years Imprisonment or a Fine of Up to 5 Million KRW... Punishment Determined Case by Case

According to Article 251 of the Public Official Election Act (Defamation of Candidates), those who defame a candidate’s spouse, direct ascendants or descendants, or siblings may face imprisonment of up to three years or a fine of up to 5 million KRW. However, the National Election Commission (NEC), which oversees election affairs, says monitoring and deciding on punishments are both difficult.

An NEC official said, "Anyone can create open chat rooms, and they operate in real time, so realistically, there are limits to monitoring."

Currently, the NEC conducts its own monitoring, but it covers candidates’ Twitter, Facebook, Naver and Daum cafes and bands, blogs, and so on.

The NEC official also said regarding election law violations, "Whether something is a personal opinion or defamation requires case-by-case judgment, so it must be checked each time."

The problem is that even participants find it difficult to determine whether their actions constitute ‘defamation of candidates.’ In fact, in chat rooms, comments such as "Can’t citizens even debate?" and "Isn’t it different depending on the perspective?" were exchanged.

Legislative Researcher Heo Min-sook of the National Assembly said, "There needs to be a legal basis establishing that hate speech and defamation of specific individuals do not fall under freedom of expression," adding, "A social consensus is likely needed on where to draw the line for freedom of expression."

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