Gyeonggi-do Removes 2,489 Illegal Political Party Banners This Year

Gyeonggi Province removed 2,489 'illegal party banners' ahead of the general election in April.

On the 22nd, Gyeonggi Province announced that from January 26 to February 29, it conducted crackdowns on illegal banners across the province and removed 2,489 party banners that violated regulations. Suwon, Goyang, Bucheon, and Pyeongtaek conducted joint inspections with the province, while the remaining 27 cities and counties carried out their own inspections.

The main violation type was installation period (15 days) violations, accounting for 1,968 cases, or 79% of the total, making it the most frequent. This was followed by 212 cases (9%) of violations related to installation methods such as banner height, and 159 cases (6%) of violations related to display methods such as party name, contact information, and display period.

Gyeonggi Province explained that the high rate of installation period violations is due to parties not voluntarily removing banners.

Gyeonggi Provincial Government

Gyeonggi Province plans to conduct intensive inspections with cities and counties until March 27, as it expects a proliferation of illegal party banners due to competitive banner installations by parties before the start of the National Assembly election period on March 28.

They also plan to once again inform political parties and outdoor advertising organizations about the revised Outdoor Advertising Act and request their cooperation.

The current 'Outdoor Advertising Act' allows party banners to be installed up to two per town or neighborhood per party (with one additional banner allowed in towns or neighborhoods with an area of 100㎢ or more), and prohibits installation in children protection zones and around fire facilities.

Additionally, banners must be installed at a height of at least 2.5 meters around intersections, crosswalks, and bus stops where there is a high risk of obstructing the view of pedestrians or drivers. Banners must not block other banners, traffic lights, or safety signs, must be made within an area of 10㎡, and the text size (vertical) displaying the party name, contact information, and posting period (15 days) must be at least 5 cm.

Lee Eun-seon, Director of the Architecture and Design Division of Gyeonggi Province, stated, "To prevent inconvenience to residents and ensure early settlement of the revised Outdoor Advertising Act, we will continue to conduct on-site inspections and maintenance together with cities and counties."

Meanwhile, during the election period (March 28 to April 10), party banners are prohibited under Article 90 (Prohibition of Facility Installation, etc.) of the Public Official Election Act, and only election banners in accordance with Article 67 (Banners) of the Public Official Election Act may be installed.

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