If You Stick 50,000 Won in a Pig's Head, Is It a Donation? Public Morals? ... Guilty of Violating the Public Official Election Act

Claim of "Good Customs" Not Accepted
Chuncheon District Court Sentences 900,000 Won Fine

A preliminary candidate for the county council election who stuck a 50,000 won bill into a pig's head placed on a ritual table and appealed for support was sentenced to a fine.

The Chuncheon District Court Criminal Division 2 (Chief Judge Kim Seong-rae) sentenced Mr. A (62), who was indicted for violating the Public Official Election Act, to a fine of 900,000 won, Yonhap News reported on the 1st.

Mr. A attended a New Year's ritual hosted by the township office in Yanggu-gun, Gangwon Province, on January 1 last year, where he stuck a 50,000 won bill into a pig's head placed on the ritual table and was prosecuted for violating the prohibition and restriction on donation activities. Three days earlier, on December 29, 2023, he attended a year-end closing ceremony held in a meeting room in Yanggu-gun, took the microphone, and said, "I will definitely win the by-election and work hard so that our village chiefs and staff will not be embarrassed. Please help me. Thank you." About 30 people, including township office staff and village chiefs, attended the event.

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At the time, Mr. A was aiming for the vacant seat left by a current Yanggu county council member who lost their position due to election law violations. Although he was a current village chief and therefore prohibited from conducting any election campaigns, he violated this rule. The Election Commission reported Mr. A to the prosecution for violating the Public Official Election Act, judging that his act of sticking a 50,000 won bill into the pig's head violated the restrictions on donation activities.

During the trial, Mr. A admitted to sticking 50,000 won in cash into the pig's head on the ritual table. However, he argued that since this was done in a public place according to good customs and manners, he was not aware that it constituted a prohibited donation activity under the Public Official Election Act, and that it did not violate social norms. The court did not accept Mr. A's argument. Even considering that other attendees also stuck money into the pig's head, the court held that whether to stick money was solely up to the individual's will, and there was no customary ritual requiring money to be stuck while bowing to the ritual table, which was also a basis for the guilty verdict.

The court explained, "Mr. A attended a candidate briefing session conducted by the Yanggu County Election Commission," and "It appears he was well aware that donation activities by those intending to become candidates are constantly restricted." It further pointed out, "Despite being prohibited from campaigning, he used a loudspeaker before the campaign period to conduct electioneering by unfair means and made donations to the township office, which is not a light offense considering the legislative intent of the Public Official Election Act." Regarding the sentencing, the court explained, "However, considering that Mr. A's actions seemed to be made impulsively according to the atmosphere at the scene, and that he did not run in the election so the offenses in this case do not appear to have influenced the election results, the sentence was determined accordingly."

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