The judgment below is reversed, and the case is remanded to the Daegu High Court.

The grounds of appeal are examined.

1. As to whether an abuse of the right to institute a public prosecution constitutes an abuse of the right to institute a public prosecution, a prosecutor has exercised the right to institute a public prosecution and rendered substantial disadvantages to the defendant;

In view of the abuse of the right to institute a public prosecution (see, e.g., Supreme Court Decisions 9Do577, Dec. 10, 1999; 2001Do3106, Oct. 9, 2001). However, even in light of the record, the prosecutor’s indictment of this case does not seem to significantly deviate from discretionary power by exercising his/her right to institute a public prosecution.

Therefore, we cannot accept the allegation of the grounds of appeal that the prosecution of this case constitutes abuse of power of prosecution.

2. As to whether an election campaign under Article 58(1) of the former Election of Public Officials Act (Amended by Act No. 12111, Aug. 13, 2013; hereinafter the same) constitutes an election campaign

A. (1) The main sentence of Article 58(1) of the former Act on the Election of Public Officials provides that an election campaign shall be “an act to be elected or not to be elected,” and the proviso provides for “a simple statement and expression of opinion on an election” (No. 1) and “a simple statement and expression of opinion on a recommendation of a candidate for a political party” (No. 3) as an act that does not constitute an election campaign.

Here, the term "election campaign" refers to an act objectively recognized for the purpose of promoting the election or defeat of a specific candidate in a specific election, and whether an election campaign is an election campaign ought to be objectively determined for an act indicated outside, rather than the internal intent of the person who performs the relevant act.

Therefore, if it is difficult to recognize the act as an act of realizing the intent of the purpose in view of the objective situation at the time, even if the actor took the subjective election, or as a result, the act may affect the election.