[Asia Economy Reporter Oh Gyumin] Heo Kyung-young, the presidential candidate of the National Revolutionary Party, filed an injunction request to ban the '4-party TV debate' broadcast, but the court dismissed it citing "reasonable discrimination."
The Civil Division 21 of the Seoul Western District Court (Chief Judge Park Byung-tae) stated on the 28th, "According to Article 82 of the Public Official Election Act, when holding debates hosted by media organizations, considerable discretion is granted to the media organizations within limits that do not exceed boundaries in terms of the number, format, content composition, and selection of participants."
In the ruling, the court said, "The defendants (KBS, MBC, SBS) holding a debate by inviting only Lee Jae-myung, Yoon Seok-yeol, Ahn Cheol-soo, and Shim Sang-jung, excluding the plaintiff (Heo Kyung-young), is a reasonable and considerable discrimination, and it is difficult to see it as infringing on the public's right to know, voting rights, or violating legitimacy and fairness."
It added, "Considering differences in approval ratings and party seat numbers compared to other candidates, it appears to be based on factors such as electability and level of interest, and the selection criteria do not constitute arbitrary discrimination without reasonable grounds. Restricting debate invitees to enable substantial discussion on important issues can rather guarantee voters useful information and opportunities for choice."
Meanwhile, before attending the trial in the afternoon, candidate Heo said, "If the injunction request is not accepted, I will remember all the judges."
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