2020 General Election 'Opposition to Hwang Kyo-ahn' Poster Posting Democratic Labor Union Officials Acquitted

Seoul Central District Court. / Photo by Moon Honam munonam@

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Daehyun] Executives of the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions (KCTU), who were prosecuted for posting posters criticizing former Prime Minister Hwang Kyo-ahn, a preliminary candidate in the 2020 21st National Assembly election, were acquitted in the first trial.

According to the court on the 16th, the Seoul Central District Court Criminal Division 34 (Chief Judge Kang Gyutae) recently acquitted seven people, including Senior Vice Chairman Yoon Taek-geun, who were indicted for violating the Public Official Election Act.

Earlier, about a month before the general election in March 2020, Senior Vice Chairman Yoon and others were prosecuted for posting 69 posters opposing the candidacy of former Prime Minister Hwang, affiliated with the United Future Party (now the People Power Party), who ran as a preliminary candidate in Jongno-gu, Seoul. The posters reportedly included phrases such as "32 years imprisonment criminal Park Geun-hye election interference" and "Eradicate the deep-rooted forces," along with a photo of former President Park Geun-hye.

Subsequently, in July, the Constitutional Court unanimously ruled the unconstitutionality of part of Article 93, Paragraph 1 of the Public Official Election Act, which prohibits "posting posters and distributing or posting printed materials" from 180 days before the election date to influence the election.

The Seoul Central District Court stated, "The Constitutional Court has ruled the unconstitutionality of the relevant provisions of the Public Official Election Act applied in this case," and added, "Since the legal provisions related to the Criminal Act have lost their effect and the act is no longer a crime, the defendants are acquitted."

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