Politicians search for new ways to use liberalized banner regulations

Political banners hang on a street in Yangcheon District, western Seoul, on Tuesday [YONHAP]

Politicians in Korea are busy hanging banners around the country to promote themselves ahead of the parliamentary election slated for April 10 next year.

A revision to the Outdoor Advertisement, Etc. Management Act last December allowed politicians to post political advertisements without any restrictions on size, location or quantity, as long as they stay up for no more than 15 days.

The Constitutional Court last year also concluded that the ban on political banners and printed materials during the 180-day period before an election day is unconstitutional. The parliament was granted a year to amend the law until Monday but failed to do so on time.

The public is now worried that they will be forced to see political placards all year round.

The local chief of Dongdaemun B district’s People Power Party (PPP) association hangs 80 banners with his face on them a month in different places within his district.

“As there is no restriction on the number of banners that could be hung, I try to display as many banners as possible to let local residents become familiar with my face,” he said.

But some other candidates, who are mostly new to the political scene, say they cannot hang as many banners as they would like because the law allows only the heads of local party chapters to do so.

A candidate for next year’s parliamentary election in North Chungcheong could not even display a single placard after announcing his run in June.

“It an absolutely unfair environment for newbie politicians,” the politician said.

Political banners convey a party’s political message or promote its activities.

Examples of banner slogans include the PPP's “Politics for people’s livelihood,” and the Democratic Party's (DP) “Please protect the country’s national interest.”

Politicians say these banners serve as great advertising material.

This is largely because their faces are printed on them, even if the slogans make no direct reference to the individual politician in question.

An average of 10 to 30 placards hang in each city ward of the country.

A single banner costs around 100,000 won ($77), meaning that as much as 3 million won is spent on these banners.

Half of the cost is usually covered by the money paid by the local chief of the party association.

“We make use of the banners for publicity, even if they cost a lot, because it helps politicians to promote themselves,” a spokesperson from PPP said.

And if the local chiefs of party associations are incumbent lawmakers, they can hang more banners because they can spend campaign funds.

The rest of the costs are covered by fees paid by party members and the budget allocated for the party’s promotion. This budget includes government subsidies, which means tax money goes to produce the banners.

People other than local party association chiefs have to wait until they register as preliminary candidates for the upcoming election on December 12 to hang banners.

If they wish to hang placards before that, they need approval from local governments.

“Ordinary banners, other than political parties, can be hung only in designated places, which are very competitive to secure,” one politician said.

“When these banners are attached to different places [without approval], they are soon taken down.”

Some politicians from the DP who wish to run for Gwangjin B district hung placards last Friday although they were not allowed to do so.

They aimed to hang these banners over the weekend when district office officials do not work.

The banners were taken down immediately on Monday.

Politicians are drawing up new strategies to make effective use of political placards.

DP lawmaker Ko Min-jung in Gwangjin B district recently decided not to display a banner that criticizes President Yoon Suk Yeol sent from the DP’s central leadership.

Instead, she displayed messages more relevant to local concerns, such as a slogan welcoming the development of the site of a local elementary school.

A DP official explained that this was to target moderates as there are rumors that former Justice Minister Choo Mi-ae will run in the general election, and that former lawmaker Oh Shin-hwan will run in Ko's district as the PPP's candidate.

PPP lawmaker Choe Jae-hyeong, who represents Jongno District in central Seoul, hangs no political banners near Gyeongbok Palace. This is due to concerns that such placards may backfire against the candidate when people see them at tourist sites.

“The unfair law that only allows local heads of party associations to hang banners limits voters’ options,” said Yang Seung-ham, an emeritus professor at Yonsei University’s Department of Political Science and International Studies.

“Fair measures that restrict the number of banners hung are needed.”

The disposal of these countless banners is another issue.

According to the Environment Ministry, some 1,300 tons of political banners were discarded from January to March.

Burning each of these plastic banners produces around 4 kilograms (8.8 pounds) of green gas, the Korea Federation for Environmental Movements said.

BY KIM HYO-SEONG, KIM DA-YOUNG, CHO JUNG-WOO [cho.jungwoo1@joongang.co.kr]