"'Vote Early Early', It Feels Like They're Telling Us to Choose Number 1"…Council Member Removes Banner

Removal of Rival Party's Vote Encouragement Banners
Police Reviewing Relevant Legal Principles

On the 5th, when early voting for the April 10 general election began, a city council member in Chungju, Chungbuk, is under police investigation for allegedly damaging a banner encouraging early voting.

On the same day, the Chungju Police Station in Chungbuk announced that they are conducting a preliminary investigation into A, a Chungju city council member affiliated with the People Power Party, on charges of property damage.

Around 11 a.m. that day, Councilor A cut a street election encouragement banner belonging to the Democratic Party, which read "Please vote early," with a sickle in Chilgeum-dong, Chungju.

A Democratic Party member nearby discovered this and reported it to the police.

The scene of removing a banner
[Photo by The Democratic Party of Korea Chungbuk Provincial Party, Yonhap News].

Councilor A reportedly stated, "The word 'early' in the banner's phrase is essentially telling people to vote for number 1 openly, so I was just removing an illegal banner."

The Public Official Election Act prohibits the use of banners that encourage voting if they contain expressions that can infer the name of a political party or a candidate. This banner did not include the party's name.

A police official said, "We are reviewing the legal aspects, such as whether the banner can be considered illegal as claimed by Councilor A, and whether the charge of property damage can be applied."

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