Court: "Holding Printed Materials Opposing a Candidate During Campaigning Does Not Violate Election Law"

Court Rules Ordinary Voters May Use Small Printed Materials

The court has acquitted a voter who was holding printed materials opposing a specific presidential candidate near a campaign rally site.

Seoul Central District Court, Seocho-gu, Seoul. Photo by Yonhap News Agency

According to the court on May 11, the 21st Criminal Division of the Seoul Central District Court (Presiding Judge Cho Soonpyo) acquitted individual A, who had been indicted on charges of violating the Public Official Election Act on April 29.

On June 1 last year, at around 7:20 p.m. for approximately 40 minutes, individual A stood near the campaign rally site of presidential candidate B at Seoul Station Plaza in Jung-gu, Seoul, holding a printed sign with the phrase, "The 22nd National Assembly must immediately discipline and expel B for hate speech incitement!" Prosecutors charged A, arguing that this act constituted the "posting of printed materials" prohibited by Article 93, Paragraph 1 of the Public Official Election Act.

However, the court ruled that A's actions fell under "election campaigning using small props, etc." permitted by Article 68, Paragraph 2 of the Public Official Election Act, as amended in August 2023, and therefore acquitted A.

Previously, Article 68, Paragraph 2 of the Public Official Election Act completely prohibited election campaigning by ordinary voters using signs or materials. However, in July 2022, the Constitutional Court ruled that the blanket ban on electioneering with signs by persons other than candidates infringed on freedom of political expression and found the law unconstitutional. Following this, the Election Act was revised to permit "election campaigning by ordinary voters using small props, etc."

The bench explained, "The act of holding printed materials constitutes 'election campaigning by producing or purchasing small props, etc. at one's own expense and wearing or carrying them,'" and added, "Such conduct falls under the posting of printed materials as specified by the law."

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