11,105 Posts Remain Online Despite NEC Deletion Requests, Left Up for Nearly Four Years
Non-deletion Rates and Processing Times Particularly Severe on Overseas Platforms Such as Facebook, Instagram and YouTube
Serious Threat to Electoral Fairness, Urgent Need for Institutional Reforms
According to data submitted by the National Election Commission to Jung Heeyong, Member of the National Assembly (People Power Party, Chilgok, Seongju and Goryeong, North Gyeongsang), a total of 251,379 posts violating the Public Official Election Act were detected online during the 20th presidential election and the 8th local elections held in 2022, the 22nd general election in 2024, and the 21st presidential election in 2025.
Although a large number of posts violating the Public Official Election Act have been detected online in the run-up to elections, it has been found that a considerable portion of them still remain online without being deleted.
Jeong Heeyong, Member of the National Assembly (People Power Party, Gyeongbuk Chilgok, Seongju, Goryeong) / Kim Ihwan, Reporter
By type of violation, there were 176,226 cases of violating the ban on the publication of opinion poll results, 33,890 cases of disseminating false information, 14,044 cases of slander against candidates, 10,898 cases involving deepfake videos, and 3,145 cases of derogatory or insulting expressions based on region or gender.
By platform, there were 108,255 cases on news outlet websites, 79,671 cases on Meta platforms such as Facebook and Instagram, 47,922 cases on portal sites such as Naver and Daum (including blogs and online communities), 11,615 cases on X (Twitter), 2,503 cases on YouTube, and 1,483 cases on TikTok.
The National Election Commission is detecting violating posts and requesting their deletion from the relevant platforms in accordance with Articles 82-4 and 82-8 of the Public Official Election Act. However, despite these measures, as many as 11,105 posts have still not been deleted to date. These posts have remained exposed online for periods ranging from several months to nearly four years.
In particular, the non-deletion rate was markedly higher for overseas platforms.
The non-deletion rates were 10.3% for X (Twitter), 9.5% for Facebook and Instagram, and 7% for YouTube. In terms of the number of posts not deleted, there were 8,338 cases on Facebook and Instagram, 1,374 on X (Twitter), and 202 on YouTube, indicating that most of the unresolved violations are concentrated on overseas platforms.
There was also a significant gap in the time required for deletion. For domestic platforms, posts were deleted in an average of 3.5 days, whereas for overseas platforms, it took an average of 13.6 days, resulting in a relatively prolonged exposure period for violating posts.
Actual cases of detected illegal posts highlight the seriousness of the problem even more. Various illegal activities that undermine the fairness of elections are spreading indiscriminately online.
Jung Heeyong stated, "Allowing illegal posts that undermine the fairness of elections to remain online for long periods is a serious problem that shakes the very foundations of democracy," adding, "In particular, since oversight of overseas platforms is effectively in a blind spot, it is urgent to establish a more effective response system and improve the relevant institutions."
He went on to say, "While strengthening the supervisory and oversight functions of the National Election Commission, we must also put in place legal and institutional mechanisms to ensure that global platform operators comply more strictly with domestic election laws," and added, "I will actively pursue legislative measures at the National Assembly level to help create a clean and fair election environment."
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