A. 1) The Defendant: (a) enacted enforcement regulations for the determination of candidates within the F Party (Wparty prior to the change of name) and sent promotional printed matter in mind to the party members, who are not general voters, before receiving the application form as a candidate for the intra-party competition; (b) however, the F Party decided that the method of competition for the recommendation of candidates for the 6th nationwide local elections against general voters, who are not members of the political party, through a public opinion poll voting and a public opinion poll; (c) as such, the above Defendant’s act would result in election campaigns (the competition campaign under Article 57-3(1) of the Public Official Election Act).

(2) The Defendant received application documents for the intraparty competition from April 22, 2014 to April 24, 2012. However, in the process of examination of documents by the F Party Competition Review Committee, the Defendant was excluded from the candidate for the intraparty competition and was not listed as a candidate for the intraparty competition. As a result, there is no lack that is included in the public opinion investigation, the electoral group voting, and the public opinion poll, and thus, it constitutes an extended interpretation or analogical interpretation prohibited by the principle of no punishment without law to interpret that the Defendant constitutes a candidate for the intraparty competition under Article 57-3(1) of the Public Official Election Act.

3) Therefore, the judgment of the court below which found all of the facts charged of this case guilty is erroneous in the misapprehension of legal principles, which affected the conclusion of the judgment. B. The court below’s sentence of unfair sentencing (the fine of KRW 1.5 million, confiscation, and provisional payment order) is too unreasonable.

2. Determination

A. The term "election campaign" under Article 58 (1) of the Public Official Election Act, which is necessary for the election, votes, or defeat of a certain candidate, refers to an active and planned act that can be objectively recognized for the purpose of promoting the election or defeat of a certain candidate.