[Editorial] Ban on Release of Opinion Poll Results

The current election law sets a provision that bans release of opinion poll results for 23 days from the launch of election campaigns through the closure of vote counting. Despite its aim to stop political parties from misleading voters by manipulating results of opinion polls, it is only serving as a stumbling block to helping people make sound judgment.

With results of opinion polls spreading fast over the Internet, in particular, the law appears to exist only by its name. Now that groundless and manipulated data are in wide circulation, things are only getting worse.

It is an apparent violation of the election law to post manipulated results of the opinion polls conducted by Donga Ilbo and Munhwa Ilbo on bulletin boards at `One Million Supporters` Web site, an MDP’s affiliate and `Oh! My News` Web site. The Central Election Commission must launch an investigation and find out who is responsible for this purported circulation of false information.

Avoiding unveiling opinion poll results, political parties are skillfully letting out the latest trend of public opinions. And the bypass strategy is causing a side effect. By making available voter preferences by region and age, they are provoking regionalism and generational divide.

There are few advanced countries that ban release of opinion poll results for weeks. Most countries, in fact, do not have such a ban at all. Voters in this country are mature and discreet enough to understand the limit and trap of opinion polls. The authorities, therefore, must consider abolishing the law.

We already saw a single presidential candidate decided by opinion polls, and it makes little sense to deny the public access to results of opinion polls. Open information will serve much better to make sound judgment.