A woman in her 60s who damaged a campaign poster of Democratic Party of Korea presidential candidate Lee Jae-myung during the 21st presidential election campaign period has been fined.
According to the legal community on the 3rd, the 13th criminal division of the Uijeongbu District Court fined a woman in her 60s, identified as A, 500,000 won for violating the Public Official Election Act.
A was indicted on charges of damaging Lee's poster among the presidential election posters installed on the sidewalk next to the main gate of an apartment complex in Yangju, Gyeonggi, on 5th using a lighter.
She allegedly damaged the eye, nose and mouth areas of Lee's photo by scorching them several times with a lighter before leaving the scene.
The court said, "Without just cause, damaging an election poster in accordance with the Public Official Election Act can harm voters' right to know, the fairness of the election and the effectiveness of election management, so the nature of the crime is not good."
It added, "There is no prior record of similar criminal punishment, and the defendant admits her wrongdoing and is reflecting," explaining the sentencing by noting that "the extent to which the crime affected the election appears to be minor."
Meanwhile, Article 240 of the Public Official Election Act stipulates that those who, without just cause, damage or remove promotional facilities such as election posters or banners are subject to imprisonment for up to two years or a fine of up to 4 million won.