Unexpectedly 'Voting is the Power of the People' on Elementary School Menu... Election Campaign Controversy

School Officials Explain "Included Message Encouraging Voting"
Similar Incident Occurred During 2022 Local Elections

A elementary school in Daejeon recently sparked controversy by distributing a school lunch menu with the phrase "Voting is the Power of the People" printed on it. The phrase was perceived to evoke a specific political party. As the controversy grew, the education office and the school explained that the message encouraging voting caused a misunderstanding.

On the 29th, the Daejeon Metropolitan Office of Education announced that an elementary school in Seo-gu had distributed the "April lunch menu" with an image of people holding papers stamped with a voting mark and the phrase "Voting is the Power of the People" in the box for April 10th.

A elementary school in Daejeon recently distributed a school lunch menu with the phrase "Voting is the Power of the People," sparking controversy. The phrase was associated with a specific political party. As the controversy grew, the education office and the school explained that the inclusion of the voting encouragement message caused a misunderstanding.
[Photo by Online Community]

April 10th is the date of the 22nd National Assembly election. Since this day is a school holiday, the space should have been left blank, but the inclusion of a phrase that could be mistaken as encouraging voting for a specific political party caused the controversy to spread.

As the controversy escalated, a Daejeon education office official investigating the situation stated, "The school's nutrition teacher usually inserts related images on commemorative days without menus, and since this day was an election day, the nutrition teacher explained that the image was added with the intention of 'showing the power of the people.'" The official added, "The day after the menu was distributed, the Election Commission and the education office's audit office went to investigate the circumstances and determined that there was no intention to encourage voting for a specific political party."

The education office official said, "The school redistributed the menu including an apology letter, and the education office sent an official letter to local schools once again requesting strict adherence to political neutrality obligations."

A school lunch menu from a middle school in Busan that caused controversy for containing a phrase reminiscent of a specific political party one day before the June 1, 2022 local elections.
[Photo source=Online Community]

Previously, on the day before the June 1, 2022 local elections, a middle school in Busan also caused controversy by distributing a lunch menu with a phrase that evoked a specific political party. The menu was distributed to students on May 31st, which was the day before the local election. The calendar on the menu had a voting mark on the 1st, the election day, along with the phrase "Voting is the Power of the People, the People are God." At that time, the middle school retrieved all copies of the problematic menu distributed to students on the 2nd, the day after the election.