Liberty Korea Party (LKP) Chairman Hwang Kyo-ahn has come under fire for illegal electioneering at a football stadium in support of his party's candidate Kang Ki-youn ahead of the by-election today.
The former prime minister during the previous Park Geun-hye administration showed up at the Changwon Football Center in South Gyeongsang Province, Saturday, at a K League 1 match between Gyeongnam FC and Daegu FC with Kang and his campaign team, and appealed for votes from the people in the stands. Hwang and those accompanying him were all wearing red campaign jackets with the candidate's name and number.
The K League and Korea Football Association (KFA) strictly prohibit any kind of election activity by party officials and candidates. Gyeongnam FC, a club based in Changwon, said that it had warned the LKP, but it was still fined 20 million won ($17,590) Tuesday by the K League Disciplinary Committee. Gyeongnam FC was punished for not properly handling the situation and actively preventing the campaign activities, but the LKP officials are mainly at fault for ignoring the rules and entering the stadium without even buying tickets.
The irresponsible reaction from the LKP is disappointing. The new chairman has not shown any remorse about causing the controversy. There was no mention of it on his social media page. And the LKP only said that it was not aware of the rules, and that it had checked with the National Election Commission's (NEC) regional office and received permission to conduct the activities they had planned inside the stadium. However, the National Election Commission later said that the party had not made such an inquiry, adding that while Hwang's actions were a violation of the Election Law, they were not a grave offense that merited punishment.
The entire incident shows Hwang's arrogance as he emerges as one of the most attractive conservative candidates in the next presidential election. During the few months since assuming the leadership of the main opposition party, he has continued to come under fire for remarks that are far from the public sentiment. Lately, he has been linked to the sex scandal involving Kim Hak-ui, who briefly served as vice minister while Hwang was justice minister during the Park administration. Rival parties are calling on Hwang to clarify his role in covering up for Kim at the time of the scandal that is being re-investigated.
Given that he served as justice minister and had a long career in the prosecution, there is no way that he could not have known about the regulations on illegal electioneering. Hwang should take moral responsibility for causing a controversy only days ahead of the by-election, and apologize for the incident. Also the LKP and other parties should be careful not to break regulations defining illegal campaigning.