30s fined for tearing 'Yoon Seok-yeol poster' and 40s fined for graffiti on 'Lee Jae-myung poster'

Lee Jae-myung, member of the Democratic Party of Korea (left), and President Yoon Seok-yeol [Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Daehyun] Ahead of the 20th presidential election, a man in his 30s and a man in his 40s who respectively damaged election posters of President Yoon Seok-yeol and Lee Jae-myung, then candidates, were sentenced to fines.

According to the court on the 26th, the Seoul Central District Court Criminal Division 34 (Presiding Judge Kang Gyutae) sentenced Mr. A (37, male), who was indicted for violating the Public Official Election Act, to a fine of 800,000 won on the 21st. Similarly, Mr. B (42, male), also indicted for violating the Public Official Election Act, was sentenced to a fine of 500,000 won on the same day.

Earlier, Mr. A was prosecuted for discovering President Yoon’s (then the People Power Party presidential candidate) election poster around 2:20 a.m. on February 20 in Seocho-gu, Seoul, and damaging it by burning the eye area with a cigarette lighter and tearing around the mouth with his hand. It was confirmed that Mr. A had multiple prior convictions, including property damage.

Mr. B is accused of drawing a mustache and coloring one tooth black on Lee’s (then the Democratic Party presidential candidate) election poster with a black pen he was carrying around 9:30 p.m. on March 4 in Gwanak-gu, Seoul. Mr. B also has a history of fines for other types of offenses.

Article 240, Paragraph 1 of the current Public Official Election Act stipulates that "Anyone who, without justifiable reason, obstructs the creation, posting, or installation of election posters, or damages or removes them shall be punished by imprisonment for up to two years or a fine of up to 4 million won."

The sentencing hearings for the two indicted individuals were held on the same day. The court reprimanded Mr. A and Mr. B, stating, "Damaging the posters of presidential candidates harms voters’ right to know, the fairness of the election, and the efficiency of election management, so the culpability is not light." However, the court added, "Considering that they admitted and reflected on their crimes, and that the offenses appear to have been committed impulsively without political intent to influence the election, we have comprehensively considered the sentencing conditions."

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