Lawless Cyberspace to Be Strictly Controlled

The National Election Commission (NEC) and the police force announced their wills to supervise illegal election practice such as political attacks on specific parties and campaigns to have certain election candidates fail, which are increasing since the impeachment motion passed at the National Assembly.

On March 16, the NEC proclaimed that they would control the improper cyber election practice against the election law, which is increasing. Also, they announced that they will punish illegal cases following the election law.

The feature of the recent campaign to have candidates fail is focused on the opposition parties’ members from the Grand National Party and the Millennium Democratic Party, who took the imitative for the impeachment motion or had signed the bill.

The list of the members of the National Assembly who supported the impeachment bill was revealed on the Internet, and many people have left messages such as, “We should judge them at the upcoming election.”

At some Internet websites built by the netizens who were against the impeachment bill, phases such as, “Citizens of ○○ district, let’s judge △△△,” and, “You ○○○, we’ll judge you at this national election,” are encouraging the campaign to have these candidates fail, citing the names of the congress members.

At the candlelight vigil at the Gwanghwamun, Seoul, on March 16, a group of demonstration participants handed out fliers with the names of the 195 congressmen who voted for the impeachment bill, picketing, “We are looking for 193 insane dogs that ran away.”

“By April 1, the previous day when the legal campaign movement for the 17th national election can start, under the name of the election law, we are going to control the cases that open the list of the names of congressmen who were for the impeachment motion to the public, and cases that campaign for trying to have the candidates fail,” announced the NEC.

The officials from the NEC said, “It is the object of punishment when one slanders a specific candidate and spread unidentified sources about them at the public place and not at a social meeting. Also, we are keeping a cautious eye on the candlelight vigil, too.”

The police force also announced on March 16, “We received an official document from the NEC, which says, ‘It needs alertness because of the possibility that the movement for or against the impeachment motion can be connected to the result of the coming election as the demonstrations criticizing the passage of impeachment bill is taking place’, “and added, “We are going to control the illegal election practice in full-swing.”

Therefore, the NEC and the police force started to check articles on the bulletin board on the websites, and began looking for the identities of writers who put up their articles that slander specific candidates torrentially.

Wan-Bae Lee roryrery@donga.com