Approved at the Public Administration and Security Committee plenary session on the 27th
People Power Party: "Democratic Party pushed it through like a military operation"
Bill to re-designate Constitution Day as a public holiday also passed
A bill prohibiting banners from political parties that contain hate speech or discriminatory content was passed by the National Assembly's Public Administration and Security Committee on November 27. An amendment to the Public Holidays Act, which would re-designate Constitution Day as a public holiday, was also passed.
The committee held a plenary session that day and approved the amendment to the Outdoor Advertisements Act containing these provisions. The amendment removes political party banners from the list of exemptions to the Outdoor Advertisements Act. It also includes a clause prohibiting advertisements containing discriminatory content based on religion, country of origin, region, and similar grounds.
Previously, a 2022 amendment had relaxed regulations on political party banners by adding “expressions of party policies or political issues protected as ordinary party activities” to the list of exceptions from permit and notification requirements for outdoor advertisements. Now, after three years, new regulations on political party banners have been introduced.
The push to regulate political party banners accelerated following remarks by President Lee Jaemyung. During a Cabinet meeting on November 11, President Lee pointed out, “Even when vulgar and shameful banners are put up on the streets, we cannot remove them because they were posted by political parties,” and instructed the government to devise countermeasures against hate banners.
The People Power Party expressed opposition, arguing that the current Outdoor Advertisements Act was passed in 2022 under the leadership of the Democratic Party. Assemblyman Seo Beomsoo of the People Power Party noted, “At the time, concerns were raised about the proliferation of banners and the negative impact on urban aesthetics, but the Democratic Party pushed it through anyway.” He continued, “Back then, they talked about freedom of political expression and guaranteeing party activities, but now they cite hate speech and damage to the landscape. As soon as the president spoke, the bill passed the subcommittee in nine days and is set to pass the plenary session in just sixteen days, as if it were a military operation. I cannot help but express my regret over this process.”
Minor parties in the National Assembly voiced concerns that the amendment could undermine freedom of expression for political parties. Assemblyman Jeong Chunseong of the Rebuilding Korea Party said, “I am not opposed to restricting fake news and hate speech,” but added, “Minor parties have almost no means to promote their policies or political positions,” expressing opposition to the deletion of Article 8, Paragraph 1, Subparagraph 8 of the Outdoor Advertisements Act. This provision allowed political party banners to be installed without local government permission, up to two per town, township, or neighborhood. The amendment deletes this clause, making political party banners subject to the same local government regulations as other banners.
Assemblywoman Yong Hyein of the Basic Income Party argued that the amendment to the Outdoor Advertisements Act is ineffective and needs to be reconsidered. She stated, “This law will not be able to stop the far-right parties and hate banners that are causing problems,” and added, “There is a high possibility that the removal of political banners will be handled arbitrarily depending on the local government’s judgment or the political orientation of the local government head.”
In response to these concerns, Assemblyman Yoon Kunyoung of the Democratic Party emphasized, “The Outdoor Advertisements Act is not a politically controversial law, but a livelihood law that the public wants,” and added, “This law applies equally to all parties and does not prevent party activities.”
During the bill’s vote, lawmakers from the People Power Party walked out. Of the 15 lawmakers who participated in the vote, 13 voted in favor and 2 opposed. Assemblyman Jeong and Assemblywoman Yong cast the dissenting votes.
Meanwhile, at the same plenary session, the committee also passed an amendment to the Act on Public Holidays that designates Constitution Day as a public holiday. If the bill passes the full National Assembly, Constitution Day will be re-designated as a public holiday for the first time in 18 years since 2008.
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