Daejinyeon Member Fined 2.5 Million Won for Disrupting Oh Sehoon's Campaign

Other Members Also Fined

A member of the Seoul National University Students’ Progressive Alliance (Daejinyeon), who staged a picket protest at the campaign site of Seoul Mayor Oh Sehoon-then a candidate for the Gwangjin-eul constituency in Seoul during the 21st National Assembly election-has been sentenced to a fine.

Seoul Eastern District Court

The Criminal Division 11 of the Seoul Eastern District Court (Presiding Judge Kang Minho) on November 3 sentenced Mr. Koo (32), who was indicted for violating the Public Official Election Act, to a fine of 2.5 million won.

Mr. Koo was accused of staging protests in various locations throughout Gwangjin District, Seoul, the electoral district, in March 2020, holding a picket that criticized Mayor Oh for giving a total of 1.2 million won to five people-including apartment security guards and cleaners-during a holiday at the apartment where he resides.

Police launched an investigation and booked the protesters based on the Gwangjin District Election Commission’s opinion that the picket protest disrupting the campaign was illegal. Prosecutors subsequently indicted them for violating election law.

The court explained, “The defendant carried out electioneering with the intent to cause Mayor Oh to lose the election and consistently behaved uncooperatively with investigative authorities.”

Previously, 19 other Daejinyeon members who were indicted together were each sentenced to fines ranging from 1 million to 6 million won.