[21st General Election] Police Crack Down on 1,350 Election Offenders... Increase in Election Violence and Banner Vandalism

60 Referred with Prosecution Opinion, 9 Detained

On the 15th, the 21st National Assembly election day, voters are casting their ballots at a polling station set up at Hyehwa Art Center in Jongno-gu, Seoul. Photo by Kang Jin-hyung aymsdream@

[Asia Economy Reporter Lee Gwan-ju] The National Police Agency announced on the 16th that it had cracked down on 1,350 election-related offenders in connection with the 21st general election held on the 15th, and referred 60 of them to the prosecution with a recommendation for indictment. Among them, 9 were detained.

By type of crackdown, false electioneering such as false information disclosure accounted for the largest number with 317 people (23.5%). This was followed by 230 cases of banner and poster damage, 116 cases of election violence such as candidate assault, 109 cases of money or goods-related election offenses, and 102 cases of illegal distribution of printed materials such as business cards and leaflets.

Compared to the 20th general election, the total number of crackdowns decreased by 15.9%. This is analyzed to be due to the contraction of election campaigns caused by the spread of the novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19). However, election violence and banner/poster damage surged by 205.3% and 38.6%, respectively, revealing that conflicts between camps and political hatred have increased compared to the previous election.

The police plan to promptly handle ongoing investigations, considering that the statute of limitations for election cases is six months, and to strengthen intelligence gathering and crackdowns on illegal acts such as providing money or goods under the pretexts of congratulations, consolation, or return gifts even after election day.

A National Police Agency official said, "We will continue to thoroughly investigate election crimes regardless of whether the candidate is elected or not, following procedures, and do our best to establish a clean and fair election culture."