People Power Party Central Election Countermeasures Committee Fair Election Headquarters, 'Fake Privatization False Propaganda'
Head Kim Woong "No More Tolerance for Mad Cow Disease Propaganda That Provokes Public Anxiety"
"Will Root Out Fake News Distribution and Propaganda"
[Asia Economy Reporter Oh Ju-yeon] The Public Election Headquarters of the People Power Party Central Election Countermeasures Committee announced on the 22nd that it has requested the prosecution to indict Lee Jae-myung, the candidate for the National Assembly by-election in Gyeyang District, Incheon, and Song Young-gil, the candidate for Seoul mayor, for the crime of "publishing false information with the intent to lose election" under the Public Official Election Act for posting the phrase "Opposition to privatization of electricity, water, airports, and railroads" on social networking services (SNS).
On the same day, the Public Election Headquarters of the People Power Party issued a press release stating, "We have also requested the prosecution to indict Lee Jong-won, the head of the Reform People's Movement Headquarters, who made remarks on his YouTube broadcast suggesting to actively use 'anti-privatization false agitation' as a strategy for the upcoming June 1 local elections, and 34 netizens who spread related posts, on the same charges."
Head Kim Woong said, "The Yoon Suk-yeol administration has never pursued privatization including electricity, water, airports, and railroads," adding, "There will be no more tolerance for such mad cow disease-like agitation that stirs public anxiety."
The election committee pointed out, "The two candidates posted the phrase 'Opposition to privatization of electricity, water, airports, and railroads' on their Facebook accounts around the 18th," and added, "After Lee Jae-myung's post was uploaded, many Democratic Party members of the National Assembly posted the same content on their Facebook pages, and Lee's Facebook post was shared about 1,100 times within two days after posting. Even now, the same false posts are rapidly spreading across various domestic community sites."
They also criticized, "Candidate Song Young-gil proposed a so-called 'people's resistance movement' urging repeated posting of the content every day at 9 a.m. along with the phrase," and "On the following day, the 19th, Song also included the phrase in campaign text messages sent to Seoul voters."
Head Kim criticized, "On the 19th, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Economy and Finance Choo Kyung-ho also stated during the National Assembly Budget Committee comprehensive policy questioning that privatization has not been considered by the new government," and added, "Despite the fact that there is no privatization policy to transfer public service operation to the private sector, nor has it been announced, the two candidates have continuously led the spread of false information by using placards or text messages with the same phrase not only on SNS but also at campaign sites."
He emphasized, "As politicians who have been presidential candidates and party leaders, they should take the lead in fair elections more than anyone else," and said, "Strict legal measures are inevitable against acts that confuse voters by spreading fake privatization. We will root out the spread of fake news and false information agitation without fail."
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