"Is Pressing Like a Violation of Election Law?" Angry Gongnochoong

Statement Demanding Rights Enhancement Ahead of General Election
"Infringement on Free Political Expression"

The Korean Government Employees' Union Federation (Chairperson Seok Hyun-jung, hereinafter referred to as KGEUF) announced a planned statement on the 15th demanding the enhancement of rights for government employee workers ahead of the 22nd National Assembly election, first calling for the guarantee of political basic rights for government employee workers.

In the statement, KGEUF asserted, "Even as public opinion is more freely expressed than ever during the general election, government employees are prohibited not only from joining political parties, engaging in party activities, and election campaigning but also from freely expressing political opinions. This severely infringes upon the political basic rights of citizens guaranteed by the Constitution."

KGEUF pointed out, "Government employees cannot participate in petition signing, are restricted from posting opinions in public facilities, and can be punished for election law violations even for simply liking or leaving supportive comments on social networking services (SNS)." According to KGEUF, 75 government employees were disciplined or reprimanded in the 2022 local elections for election law violations related to political expression. Previously, in 2010, about 1,900 government employees were prosecuted and punished by the prosecution for donating 10,000 won monthly to political parties.

KGEUF stated, "Allowing government employees to engage in political activities like ordinary citizens when it does not affect the time and place of their duties is not only a global trend but no country restricts the freedom of political expression of government employee workers even in their personal lives." They added, "While government employees are freely mobilized for all election tasks including vote counting, we can no longer accept the hypocrisy of cracking down on government employees for simply clicking 'like' or 'share' on SNS." They further emphasized, "The 22nd National Assembly should strive to secure political expression for government employee workers through the enactment of related special laws and amendments to the National Public Officials Act."

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