Rep. Lee Hyung-seok Proposes Amendment to Public Official Election Act to Prevent Faulty Opinion Polls

Extension of Illegal Activity Public Opinion Survey Agency Re-registration to 5 Years, etc.

[Asia Economy Honam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Yoon Jamin] Rep. Lee Hyung-seok (The Democratic Party of Korea, Gwangju Buk-gu Eul) announced on the 12th that he has taken the lead in proposing a revision to the "Public Official Election Act" to extend the re-registration ban period for polling agencies whose registration has been canceled due to illegal activities to five years and to mandate a certain percentage of mobile phone surveys.

The amendment also extends the retention period of related data to verify the objectivity and reliability of opinion polls beyond the current standard.

Under the current Public Official Election Act, if a polling agency violates related laws by including biased questions that induce support for a specific candidate in survey questions and is sentenced to imprisonment or fined more than 1 million won, its registration is canceled and re-registration is prohibited within one year.

Because of this, polling agencies with canceled registrations can immediately resume polling operations in the next public election, raising questions about the effectiveness of the punishment.

Moreover, reflecting the situation where the mobile phone penetration rate exceeds 100% of the population, the mobile phone virtual number system was introduced in 2017, but some polling agencies still conduct opinion polls using 100% landline phones.

In the 21st general election held last year, there were 25 cases of 100% landline phone opinion polls. Some of these showed significant discrepancies from actual public sentiment, causing controversy over distorted surveys, but they were accepted as official opinion polls without any sanctions from the Election Poll Deliberation Commission.

The current retention period for election opinion poll-related data is only six months, making it difficult to review relevant data and verify violations when investigating problematic opinion polls.

Rep. Lee explained that the amendment to the Public Official Election Act was proposed to narrow the gap between the current law and reality as much as possible.

First, the amendment extends the re-registration ban period for unfair polling agencies sentenced to imprisonment or fined more than 1 million won from the current one year to five years. A five-year ban on re-registration for canceled polling agencies is necessary to ensure the effectiveness of penalties against unfair polling agencies.

Second, when using telephone survey methods, a certain percentage of mobile phone surveys is mandated. This is in response to concerns that a minimum safeguard is needed to prevent the decline in the quality of opinion polls amid a mobile phone penetration rate exceeding 100% and a continuous decline in landline phone penetration.

Third, to strengthen the responsibility of polling agencies, the retention period for election opinion poll-related data is extended from the current six months to five years.

Rep. Lee said, "It is necessary to strengthen the responsibility and capabilities of polling agencies by establishing effective penalties for unfair polling agencies and minimum survey guidelines. Opinion polls should not be left solely to private autonomy as a technical area, but the National Election Commission should create minimum regulations based on the views of academia and experts."