"Guidelines Needed for Restrictions on Number and Locations of Political Party Banners"

Kim Won-tae Seoul City Councilor Announces Public Opinion Survey on Party Banners... Proposes Amendment to Outdoor Advertising Act Regarding Party Banners

Kim Won-tae, Chair of the Administrative and Autonomy Committee of the Seoul Metropolitan Council (People Power Party, Songpa 6), announced on the 15th the results of a public opinion survey of Seoul citizens, which revealed that the increase in political party banners is serious and that restrictions on the number and location, as well as guidelines, are necessary.

This survey was commissioned by Kim Won-tae, Chair of the Administrative and Autonomy Committee of the Seoul Metropolitan Council, who proposed the "Recommendation for Amendment of the Outdoor Advertising Act Related to Political Party Banners to Promote the Creation of a Resident Living Environment and Ensure Pedestrian Safety," which is scheduled to be approved at the 320th extraordinary session of the Seoul Metropolitan Council on September 15. The survey was conducted by Korea Research targeting a total of 1,000 Seoul citizens aged 18 and over (481 men and 519 women).

This survey was conducted in response to concerns that, following the amendment of the Outdoor Advertising Act (December 2022), each political party has been installing a large number of banners without restrictions on location or quantity as a means of promotion, causing inconvenience to Seoul citizens by threatening pedestrian safety and damaging the cityscape.

First, two out of three Seoul citizens (63.4%) reported encountering political party banners almost daily, and 95.0% had seen political party banners at least once this year. Regardless of exposure to the banners, 74.9% of Seoul citizens perceived the increase in political party banners as a serious issue.

Among those exposed to political party banners, the majority responded that the banners did not help them understand the party’s policies or political issues (77.1%) and that they felt discomfort upon reading the banner texts (78.7%), indicating that the banners are failing to fulfill their original purpose.

Additionally, 60.4% of respondents reported experiencing inconvenience in daily life due to political party banners, citing reasons such as "obstruction of view while walking" (38.0%), "obstruction of view while driving" (26.4%), and "psychological discomfort caused by provocative defamatory phrases and false information" (11.1%).

Accordingly, 83.9% of Seoul citizens agreed on the necessity of establishing guidelines to limit the number of political party banners posted, and 86.3% agreed on the need for guidelines restricting their locations.

Furthermore, 84.5% of Seoul citizens responded that it is necessary to enact a Seoul city ordinance to manage political party banners.

Regarding the opinion that regulating political party banners infringes on the freedom of party activities, the agreement rate was 31.0%, indicating that some concerns remain (63.4% disagreed). An overwhelming majority (91.7%) agreed that each political party should be held responsible for the disposal of their banners.

Kim Won-tae, who commissioned this survey, stated, "Seoul citizens have expressed many grievances due to the indiscriminate installation of political party banners, which led me to commission this survey," and added, "It provided an opportunity to confirm Seoul citizens’ opinions on the actual exposure to and regulation of political party banners."

Chairman Kim emphasized, "According to the survey results, three out of four Seoul citizens perceive the increase in political party banners as serious. Rather than helping to understand party policies or political issues, these banners cause problems such as obstructing views while walking. We confirmed Seoul citizens’ opinions that guidelines are needed to limit the locations and numbers of political party banners. It is urgent to prepare measures to alleviate the inconvenience faced by Seoul citizens."

He continued, "Reflecting the opinions of Seoul citizens, we will request amendments to related laws, and at the Seoul city level, it is necessary to establish comprehensive management plans, including ordinance revisions. We will actively take the lead in this effort."

To prevent the indiscriminate proliferation of political party banners, Kim Won-tae proposed the "Recommendation for Amendment of the Outdoor Advertising Act Related to Political Party Banners to Promote the Creation of a Resident Living Environment and Ensure Pedestrian Safety," which calls for revising the provisions related to special privileges for political party banners under the Outdoor Advertising Act, elevating the Ministry of the Interior and Safety’s guidelines to presidential decree status, and establishing a delegation clause allowing local governments to regulate detailed restrictions according to their circumstances. This proposal was passed at the plenary session of the 320th extraordinary meeting on September 15 and is scheduled to be forwarded to the National Assembly and central government.

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