"Before Voting Even Began: 'Congratulations on Your Election, Mayor'... What Happened on the Taebaek City Hall Electronic Board?"

Congratulatory Electronic Banner Displayed Even Before Voting Began

Democratic Party Criticizes "Undermining Election Fairness"

Taebaek City Explains "Message Exposed During Technical Demonstration"

On June 2, just one day before the main vote of the 6·3 local elections, an electronic banner message congratulating a specific candidate's victory was displayed on the electronic bulletin board inside Taebaek City Hall in Gangwon Province, sparking controversy over the possible misuse of government resources in the election. Taebaek City explained that it was an "administrative mistake during a simple technical demonstration that led to the message being exposed externally," but the ruling bloc called it "an incident that seriously undermines the fairness of the election" and demanded a thorough investigation.

On June 3, Yonhap News, citing the local Democratic Party’s Gangwon branch, reported that the previous evening, the Taebaek City Hall electronic board had shown an image of Lee Sangho, the People Power Party candidate for Taebaek mayor, along with a bouquet of flowers. The screen reportedly displayed a message along the lines of "Congratulations on Mayor Lee Sangho's election." At that time, the main vote had not yet begun, and the actual election results were not available.

Election congratulatory message displayed on the Taebaek City Hall electronic bulletin board. Provided by Donggu Kim, Democratic Party Taebaek mayoral candidate team.

As the controversy grew, the Democratic Party's Gangwon Provincial Party issued a statement criticizing the incident: "Displaying a message congratulating a specific candidate’s victory before the results are even out is an act that undermines the fairness of the election." They added, "This is further evidence that suspicions of civil servant involvement in the election are growing closer to the truth" and declared, "We strongly condemn Taebaek City for turning the local elections into a government-controlled vote."

The Democratic Party called on Taebaek City to disclose how the message was created, who gave the orders, and who was involved in the decision-making process. The party also raised suspicions that the electronic board and publicity system managed by the public institution may have been used to favor a specific candidate in the last stages of the election, demanding a strict investigation by the National Election Commission and law enforcement agencies.

Lee Sangho’s campaign team immediately distanced itself from the incident. In a statement, Lee said, "We had nothing to do with the posting of this message on the electronic board." He went on to say, "Distorting the issue to make it seem as if the campaign orchestrated the posting is nothing short of political maneuvering," and countered, "Any mistakes on the part of the administrative agency should be clarified and investigated internally in accordance with laws and principles."

Taebaek City, for its part, stated that there was no intentional attempt to influence the election. A city official explained that, under instructions from the General Affairs Division, the media video team was commissioned to create a congratulatory message, and the message was accidentally exposed externally during a system demonstration after working hours. The city emphasized that this was a mistake that occurred while testing a screen that could be used after the election, not an attempt to intervene in the election.

However, the explanation has not put the controversy to rest. Critics point out that, as the electronic board of a public office is an official promotional medium managed by the local government, even the mere exposure of a candidate’s photo and a congratulatory message on the eve of the election can undermine trust in administrative political neutrality. In particular, there is criticism that the explanation of a "demonstration" is insufficient, since the screen was not simply the result of a typo or system error, but was prepared on the assumption that a particular candidate would win.

The Taebaek City Election Commission also announced it would conduct an investigation. An official from the commission described the incident as "unthinkable" and stated that, after thoroughly verifying the facts, they would refer the matter to judicial authorities for punishment. The key points of the investigation will be to determine who ordered the creation of the message, whether there was awareness that the message could be broadcast before the election, and whether any officials attempted to influence the election by using their position or administrative resources.

The current Public Official Election Act prohibits public officials and others required to maintain political neutrality from using their work to exert undue influence on elections or to engage in activities that affect the election. The National Election Commission has also repeatedly highlighted major violations, such as public officials writing or sharing SNS posts during elections, distributing promotional materials for specific candidates, or using their position to support or oppose a candidate.

Meanwhile, on June 4, Lee Sangho was re-elected as Taebaek mayor. However, regardless of the actual outcome, there are continued calls for a thorough investigation to clarify the circumstances and responsibility for how the congratulatory message was displayed on the public office’s electronic board before the election results were finalized.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.