After Quiet Period During COVID... Unrelenting Defamation and Legal Battles

United Future Party Faces 'Controversial Remarks' Scandal Just Before Early Voting
Candidates in Battleground Districts Employ All Means to Check Opponents
Negative Campaigning Across Parties...Fake News Also Emerges

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Hyemin] With two days left before early voting, the Future United Party leadership took the drastic step of stripping the candidate of their nomination and issuing a series of apologies following a sudden 'verbal abuse' scandal. However, the sense of crisis among candidates struggling in closely contested districts is growing. A camp official of a candidate running in the Gyeonggi area sighed on the 9th, saying, "It has made an already difficult region even harder," and added, "Although apologies were made, can it really sway the undecided voters? The damage is already done."

Worried about adverse effects, Future United Party candidates are using all means, including filing complaints with the Election Commission. The more the victory in the area is perceived as a win for the overall election, the stronger the level of scrutiny.

On the 8th, Future United Party candidates Oh Se-hoon of Seoul Gwangjin District and Na Kyung-won of Seoul Dongjak District each filed complaints with the Election Commission against Democratic Party candidates Ko Min-jung and Lee Soo-jin, respectively, for violations of the Public Official Election Act. Oh claims that Ko mobilized a resident autonomy committee member, who is prohibited from election activities, for campaigning. Ko allegedly actively intervened in the election by distributing campaign materials printed with endorsements from a current resident autonomy committee member in the Gwangjin electoral district. Na plans to file a complaint against Lee for false statements, arguing that although Lee calls her a 'blacklist judge,' she is not actually on the list.

In Seoul Songpa District, where Democratic candidate Choi Jae-sung and Future United Party candidate Bae Hyun-jin are competing, current and former city and district council members from the Future United Party filed a complaint against Choi with the Election Commission. They criticized the content in Choi's preliminary campaign materials, stating, "He is claiming intellectual property rights over projects that have been promoted for over 10 years overnight." In the fiercely contested Anseong District of Gyeonggi, Future United Party candidate Kim Hak-yong has filed a complaint against Democratic candidate Lee Kyu-min with the Election Commission.

The election atmosphere, which had been quiet due to the novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19), is heating up as voting day approaches. Both ruling and opposition parties are employing negative strategies that involve harsh language to slander opponents. On the 7th, Democratic Party candidate Yoon Ho-jung said, "Kim Jong-in, the Future United Party’s general election committee chairman, rides a horse named Hwang Gyo-an and brings Park Hyung-joon as his attendant..." which led to a complaint filed against him by the Future United Party with the Election Commission. The Christian Liberty Unification Party spread fake news claiming "there is a cap on party votes," causing confusion among voters.

In Incheon Yeonsu District, where unification failed, Justice Party candidate Lee Jung-mi sharply criticized Democratic candidate Jung Il-young, calling him "someone who prospered riding in a flower palanquin during the Park Geun-hye administration." This was a jab at Jung’s appointment as president of Incheon International Airport Corporation during the Park administration. Jung responded sharply, calling it "a ridiculous story not worth responding to." In the fiercely contested Nam-gu District of Busan, Future United Party candidate Lee Eon-ju has filed a police complaint accusing Democratic candidate Park Jae-ho’s camp of spreading rumors of an affair, escalating tensions.

This kind of negative competition is interpreted as a strategy to consolidate support bases in the final stages of the election. While checking opponents, candidates intend to damage their rivals’ reputations regardless of the truth. As the election nears, the campaign is dominated by slander and complaints, pushing candidates’ policy pledges out of the spotlight.