Police receive reports of damaged campaign posters ahead of general election

General election 2024

Published: 09 Apr. 2024, 17:37

Police receive reports of damaged campaign posters ahead of general election

Posters of three Daegu Suseong-B constituency candidates were found burnt and damaged in Suseong District on Monday. [OH JUN-HO]

Ahead of the April 10 general election, police are receiving numerous reports of damaged election campaign posters and banners nationwide.

In Daegu, posters of candidates from opposition parties were found burnt and damaged in Suseong District on Monday.

Daegu Suseong-B constituency candidates Cho Dae-won from the Reform Party, Oh Jun-ho from the New Progressive Coalition and independent candidate Park Kyoung-choul’s posters were ruined.

Only conservative People Power Party (PPP)’s Lee Yin-sun poster was left intact.

Police started the investigation after Oh and a citizen discovered the damaged posters and reported them to the National Election Commission on Monday morning.

The Daegu Metropolitan Police Agency said Tuesday that it is using surveillance video footage to track down the suspect who damaged the candidates' posters.

“Such malicious damage by supporters of the [PPP] is concerning,” Oh said on Facebook on Monday.

However, damaged posters are not just limited to opposition candidates.

Last Friday, the Ulsan Metropolitan Police Agency received a report at 9:40 a.m. that two campaign posters featuring the face of the PPP candidate Kim Gi-hyeon were damaged.

At 9:09 a.m. on the same day, a banner of the PPP’s Park Dae-dong was reported as damaged in the Ulsan Buk District.

A person hangs campaign posters on March 28 in Buk District, Gwangju. [YONHAP]

Previously, the police received a report that Park's campaign poster was scribbled over with a black pen last Thursday afternoon in the same district.

Police are tracking down the suspect, who will be charged for violating the Public Official Election Act.

In Incheon, a man in his 60s was arrested last month and sent to prosecutors for damaging the banner of the liberal Democratic Party’s Noh Jong-myeon, who is a candidate for Bupyeong-A.

The man testified that he damaged the banner because it “blocked the building’s first-floor view.”

On Monday, campaign booklets containing information about candidates were delivered to an apartment in Gwangju, but disappeared soon after.

The Sinyong-dong Administrative Welfare Center identified the suspect as an apartment resident in his 70s after looking into surveillance footage with the apartment’s managing authorities.

The suspect has previously been caught stealing bills from apartment mailboxes in the past.

According to the Public Official Election Act, those damage or steal election campaign booklets may be given a 10-year prison sentence or be fined anywhere from 5 million won ($ 3,690) to 30 million won for interfering with the freedom of the election.

Those who damage or pull down promotional items, such as posters and banners, will be sentenced to prison for up to two years or fined up to 4 million won.

BY BAEK KYUNG-SEO, KIM JI-YE [kim.jiye@joongang.co.kr]