Gwangju City Election Commission Strengthens Crackdown on Illegal Acts Such as Providing Money and Goods Before and After Seollal Holiday

[Asia Economy Honam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Yoon Jamin] The Gwangju Metropolitan Election Commission announced on the 20th that it will strengthen prevention and crackdown activities before and after the Seollal holiday in preparation for the 20th presidential election and the 8th simultaneous nationwide local elections.

This measure is due to concerns about illegal activities such as political parties and prospective candidates providing holiday gifts to voters under the pretext of Seollal greetings.

The commission plans to focus on preventive activities by informing political parties, members of the National Assembly, local government heads, local council members, prospective candidates, and related organizations and groups about relevant laws and major violation cases to prevent violations due to ignorance of the law.

If illegal activities occur despite prior guidance, strict measures such as filing complaints will be taken.

Especially this year, with two major elections ahead, the commission will focus on cracking down on donation acts such as prospective candidates providing gifts via courier services and illegal provision of money or goods disguised as local government budget expenditures. In addition, if illegal activities occur, a metropolitan investigation team will be deployed simultaneously, and scientific investigation techniques such as digital forensics on mobile phones and the Digital Authentication System (DAS) will be actively utilized.

Those who receive money, goods, or food will be fined up to 50 times within a maximum of 30 million KRW, but those who voluntarily report may receive a reduction in fines depending on the case, and whistleblowers of illegal activities will be rewarded up to 500 million KRW.

A Gwangju Election Commission official said, “We will maintain a system for reporting and receiving election law violations even during the Seollal holiday period, so if you discover any illegal activities, please report them by calling 1390 from anywhere nationwide.”