Court upholds ban on political advertising

The Constitutional Court ruled Sunday that a ban on election campaign advertising by individuals on mass media was constitutional.

In a vote of six to three, the top court voted in favor of the current Public Official Election Act, saying that its blanket ban on election-related ads was legitimate.

“Political campaigns through mass media are more influential than printouts and thus more likely to affect the fairness of elections,” the court said.

“Also, excessive competition may lead to an overheated campaign, consisting of slander, false information and propaganda.”

The majority opinion added that costly political ads may intensify the economic gap between political entities.

The ruling was made on a clause which prohibits political adverts from supporting or opposing a specific party or candidate on television, radio and newspapers starting from 180 days ahead of elections. The given penalty is a maximum two-year jail term or 4 million won ($3,472) in fine.

The suit was filed by conservative columnist Jee Man-won, who had been punished for running a newspaper advert against opposition candidates in March 2012, shortly before the 19th general election.

The three judges who voted against the clause, however, claimed that it breached people’s rights to free speech and political activities.

“Just because (allowing political advertisements) has some negative elements, it does not mean that basic rights such as political freedom should be restricted,” they said.

By Ock Hyun-ju (laeticia.ock@heraldcorp.com)