[1] The meaning of "election campaign" under the Public Official Election Act

[2] The standard for determining whether the act of sending text messages to the members of a specific organization constitutes a violation of Article 93(1) of the Public Official Election Act

[3] The case holding that the act by the defendant, a full-time employee of the Korea Freedom Federation, sending text messages to the members of the Korea Freedom Federation informing the opening of the election campaign office of the preliminary candidate to the local election is merely an act of ordinary and ordinary business of full-time employees, and does not constitute an act of influencing the election" or "an act of influencing the election"

[1] The term "election campaign" under the Public Official Election Act refers to an active and planned act that is objectively recognized for the purpose of promoting an election or defeat against the elector, among all acts necessary for or favorable to obtain a vote for the purpose of winning an election of a specific candidate, or all acts necessary for or against the purpose of obtaining a vote for the purpose of winning an election of a specific candidate, which are necessary for or against the election, or all acts in favor of a specific candidate necessary for or against the purpose of winning an election, and is excluded from this category.

[2] Article 93(1) of the Public Official Election Act prohibits the act of distributing and posting documents, paintings, etc. by means of unlawful methods to influence an election for a certain period. An act prohibited under the above provision is an act committed with intent to influence an election, i.e., to engage in an election campaign, which is intended to engage in an election campaign, and is not included in the case where text messages are sent to members of a specific organization for ordinary, ordinary, or social activities to communicate their intentions, but whether the act of sending text messages is intended to carry out an election campaign or is ordinarily and exceptionally carried out without such purpose should be determined by comprehensively taking into account the contents and objects of the text messages, the contents of the sender’s work, whether the sender’s act of sending text messages was in a similar contact with others, and whether such text messages was

[3] The case holding that the act of sending text messages to the members of the Korea Freedom Federation, who are full-time employees, informing of the opening of the election office by the preliminary candidates for local elections to the members of the Korea Freedom Federation does not constitute an act of ordinary and exceptional business of full-time employees of the organization, and that it does not constitute an act of "election campaign" or "an act of influencing the election" or "an act of securing a location favorable to the election by promoting the approval of the preliminary candidates and leading support."

[1] Article 58(1) of the Public Official Election Act / [2] Articles 93(1) and 255(2)5 of the Public Official Election Act / [3] Articles 58(1), 60(1), 93(1), 254(3), and 255(2)5 of the Public Official Election Act

Defendant

J. J. J.T.

Attorney Park Jong-young

The defendant shall be innocent.

1. Summary of the facts charged

(1) The defendant is in a position not to carry out an election campaign as full-time employee of the Daegu Building Site, and is prohibited from carrying out an election campaign or having another person carry out an election campaign before the election campaign period, and the defendant may not distribute, post, spread, show or post any advertisement, personnel management book, poster, photograph, document, picture, printed material, recording tape or other similar things which indicate the name of a political party or candidate without resorting to the provisions of the Public Official Election Act in order to influence the election from 180 days to the election day, or may not distribute, post, broadcast, play, or post any advertisement, poster, picture, tape, or other similar things at the 20th election campaign office of the Korea Freedom Federation located in Daegu-gu on May 6, 2006 (1) the operation of the above 4th election campaign liaison office of the Korea Freedom, 20th election campaign liaison office of the Korea Freedom Federation at the same 5th election campaign liaison office of the Korea Freedom, and (3) the same 20th election campaign liaison office of the Korea Freedom.

2. Determination:

A. Summary of the defendant and his defense counsel

From the police to this court, the Defendant, as a full-time employee of the Korea Freedom Federation in Daegu Heavy District, performs its duties to communicate with each other, and, even in the case of each text message (hereinafter “instant text message”), sent it to the purport that anyone within the limited range of members of the operating committee of the above Daegu Heavy District, who is a full-time member of the above department of Daegu Heavy District, should communicate with the ordinary ordinary border police officer, and it does not appear to have been dispatched to the effect of having an effect on the election, as a part of the election campaign in connection with the national and provincial elections implemented on May 31, 206.

(b) Markets:

Article 60(1) of the Public Official Election Act prohibits a person with a certain status as in the case of a defendant (a full-time employee of the Korea Freedom Federation) and Article 254(3) of the same Act punishs a person to engage in an election campaign prior to the election campaign period. “Election campaign” under the Public Official Election Act refers to an active and planned act with the objective of promoting an election or defeat for a specific candidate among all acts necessary or in favor for obtaining or making another person obtain voting for the purpose of election of a specific candidate (Article 58(1) of the Public Official Election Act). In short, the term “election campaign” under the Public Official Election Act refers to an act with the objective of promoting an election or defeat for a specific candidate among all acts necessary for or against the intention of obtaining or making another person obtain voting for the purpose of election of a specific candidate (see, e.g., Supreme Court Decision 2005Do301, Oct. 14, 2005).

In addition, Article 93(1) of the Public Official Election Act prohibits the act of distributing and posting documents, paintings, etc. by means of illegal means to influence an election for a certain period. Even under the above provision, the prohibited act is intended to influence an election, i.e., to engage in an election campaign, and it does not include the case where text messages are sent to the members of a specific organization by ordinary, ordinary, or private means to communicate their intentions among them. Whether the act of sending text messages is for election campaign, or whether such text messages were made on a regular and regular basis without any purpose should be determined by comprehensively taking into account the contents and objects of sending text messages, the contents of the services of the sender, whether there is any act of ordinary contact and its repetition.

In this case, according to the defendant's statement in this court and prosecutor's office, the statement of each statement on Nonindicted 5 and 1 in the preparation of judicial police assistant, criminal intelligence (on-site text messages), the organization of the branch of the Korea Freedom Federation's Jung-gu branch, the organization of the Freedom Federation's organization, and the list of operating committee members, it is recognized that the defendant sent text messages to the Korea Freedom Federation members that contain the local election prior to the local election and inform the members of the Korea Freedom Federation of the opening of the election campaign office of the preliminary candidate.

However, with respect to whether the Defendant’s act of sending the instant text messages was an active or planned act conducted to promote the election of a specific candidate or an act for such election campaign, the instant text messages do not include the contents such as appeal for support to the pertinent preliminary candidate, in addition to informing the fourth regional election campaign office of the members registered as preliminary candidates among the members of the Korea Freedom Federation Daegu Central District of the place and time for the election campaign. Furthermore, the following circumstances acknowledged by the record are as follows: ① the Defendant, as a full-time employee of the Daegu Central Federation, is in fact in charge of accounting, progress of events, business liaison, and ordinary research liaison of the branch; ② the Defendant sent text messages to the members for the instant election campaign to ensure that it is difficult to send the instant preliminary candidate at the time of sending the instant text messages at the same time to the 7th regular election of the Korea Freedom; ② on April 11, 2006, the Daegu Central Freedom Federation sent the instant preliminary candidate messages to the members of the instant election campaign district in consideration of the fact that the instant text messages were sent to the said general members of the election district.

3. Conclusion

Thus, the facts charged of this case constitute a case where there is no proof of crime, and thus, is acquitted pursuant to the latter part of Article 32.

Judges Lee Jae-hoon (Presiding Judge)