People Power Party lawmaker Kang Myung-gu (Gumi-eul, North Gyeongsang) who was put on trial on charges of campaigning in a primary using an ARS method will keep the seat.
The Supreme Court's No. 3 Petty Bench (presiding Justice Lee Suk-yeon) finalized the lower court ruling that fined Kang 800,000 won for violating the Public Official Election Act. If an elected public official is finally sentenced to imprisonment or a fine of 1 million won or more for violating the Public Official Election Act, the election is nullified.
Ahead of the Apr. 10 general election last year, Kang sent a recorded voice message asking for support to party members via an automatic response system (ARS) during the party primary. A total of 24,710 calls were sent, of which 4,138 were received.
Under the Public Official Election Act, in party primaries conducted by granting voting rights to both party members and nonmembers, primary campaigning must be limited to installing and posting banners in the campaign office, sending promotional materials, and holding joint stump speeches.
Kang's side said, "It was primary campaigning targeting only party members, so it is not an election law violation," and noted, "Even if it were a violation, we received an answer from the National Election Commission that an ARS method is possible, so we did not know we were violating the law."
However, the first trial court found Kang guilty and imposed a fine of 800,000 won. The court said, "ARS primary campaigning targeting only party members is not permitted under the Public Official Election Act." It continued, "Although the defendant (Kang) inquired with the election commission about whether (primary campaigning using ARS) is allowed and heard the party secretariat's view, in light of the specific chronology, it cannot be deemed that there was a justifiable reason for a mistake of law."
Kang appealed the ruling, but the appellate court and then the Supreme Court both saw no error in the first-instance judgment and dismissed the appeal.
After the Yoon Suk-yeol administration was launched, Kang served as a senior administrative officer at the presidential office and as secretary for state affairs planning. He is currently a deputy director for organization at the People Power Party.