Jang Ye-chan, a deputy head of the Yeouido Institute with the People Power Party, who was indicted on charges of falsely reporting his academic background and distorting and publishing polling results during the 22nd general election held in Apr. 2024, had his acquittal on the false academic background charge finalized. The distortion of polling results charge was acquitted on appeal, but the Supreme Court reversed and remanded with a finding of guilt in mind.
The Supreme Court's Third Division (Presiding Justice Lee Suk-yeon) on this day dismissed the prosecution's appeal on the charge of falsely reporting academic background (publication of false information) in Jang's Public Official Election Act violation case. It sent the charge of distorting and publishing polling results back to the Busan High Court for retrial, overturning the lower court's ruling.
Jang was accused of publishing false information by listing his academic background as "withdrew from the bachelor of music program at Maastricht National Conservatory of Music in the Netherlands (Sep. 2008–Aug. 2009)" when he registered as a candidate in the Busan Suyeong constituency during the 22nd general election.
The allegation was that because Jang withdrew from a faculty (Conservatorium Maastricht) under Zuyd University of Applied Sciences, he should have listed his academic background as "Zuyd University of Applied Sciences," but instead published it falsely.
Jang also faces a charge of distorting polling results and promoting them on Apr. 8, 2024, during the campaign period. Commissioned by the Busan Ilbo and Busan MBC, the Korea Society Opinion Institute (KSOI) conducted a poll on the 1st–2nd of the same month, in which Jang, then an independent candidate, placed third with 27.2%.
However, Jang created an image in a card-news format on social media (SNS), cited the result of the question "If tomorrow were election day, who would you vote for," in which his response rate was 85.7% and he ranked first among the three candidates, and promoted it as "No. 1 in electability poll." The image was sent to voters' mobile phones.
In the first trial, the court fined Jang 1.5 million won and fined a co-defendant, identified as A, 800,000 won. The first trial court found him guilty on the academic background entry and also viewed the polling portion as "constituting a distortion of the results."
The appeals court acquitted Jang and A. On the academic background entry, the appeals court found that "even if only the subordinate educational institution was listed without the name of the comprehensive university, it does not appear that voters would be highly likely to misunderstand the candidate's academic background."
It also said, "In the music community, using 'Conservatorium Maastricht' as 'Maastricht National Conservatory of Music' has been widely accepted, so it is insufficient to conclude that this is false information simply because it differs from Korea's standard way of listing formal academic credentials."
On the polling portion, it said, "Although the wording may appear somewhat inappropriate, it is insufficient to conclude, viewed as a whole, that the wording alone would lead one to believe he ranked first in an electability poll."
On the false academic background charge, the Supreme Court found, "The listed academic background may differ in some particulars from the truth or amount to somewhat exaggerated expressions, but it is hard to view it as false information," adding, "It is difficult to conclude there was intent to publish a false academic background."
Regarding the polling distortion charge, the Supreme Court viewed that "the most important part of the promotional material in this case is the image in a card-news format." At the very top of the image, the content "Jang Ye-chan! No. 1 in electability poll!" and "If you vote for Jang Ye-chan, Jang Ye-chan will win!" is written in the largest font.
On this, the Supreme Court found, "It is sufficient to view that ordinary voters recognized that the defendant (Deputy Head Jang) was found to be first in the electability category in the poll results." It then reversed and remanded the lower court's ruling, citing a misunderstanding of the legal meaning of "publication of a distorted poll" under Article 96(1) of the Public Official Election Act.
During the 22nd general election, after a "rough remarks controversy" arose over past posts on his Facebook, the People Power Party canceled Jang's nomination for the Busan Suyeong constituency. He then left the party, ran as an independent, and lost, finishing third. He rejoined in May last year and was appointed deputy head of the Yeouido Institute, the party's in-house think tank, last month.