Court Rules 'Illegal' on District Office's Action to Remove Banner Urging Investigation of Kim Yeosa

A court ruling has declared that the district office's removal of a banner by the Progressive Party calling for an investigation into First Lady Kim Keon-hee, wife of President Yoon Suk-yeol, was illegal.

According to the legal community on the 10th, the Seoul Administrative Court Administrative Division 2 (Presiding Judge Go Eun-seol) ruled in favor of the Progressive Party in a lawsuit filed against the mayors of Songpa-gu and Seodaemun-gu in Seoul, demanding the cancellation of the order to remove the party's banner.

Earlier, in January, the Songpa-gu and Seodaemun-gu offices had removed banners posted by the Progressive Party on the streets calling for an investigation into First Lady Kim Keon-hee.

The district offices judged that the banners violated the Seoul Metropolitan Government ordinance at the time, which prohibited displaying a specific person's real name in a way that defames or insults them.

However, the court ruled that this ordinance violated the 'principle of legal supremacy' and was therefore illegal. The ordinance's content did not conform to the higher-level Outdoor Advertising Act, making it an invalid basis for the removal order.

The court noted, "Considering the amendment process and content of the Outdoor Advertising Act, the law directly regulates the display and installation of political party banners to ensure uniform and consistent regulation nationwide," adding, "This law does not delegate authority to subordinate ordinances to regulate matters related to political party banners."

Furthermore, the court stated, "Regulation of political party banners is inherently not a matter that local governments can regulate through ordinances without legal delegation," and concluded, "The ordinance in this case, which imposes stricter regulations than those set by the Outdoor Advertising Act, is illegal."