Presidential race marred by election crimes amid deepening polarization

An election poster of the Democratic Party of Korea's presidential candidate Lee Jae-myung is seen damaged in the city of Gangneung, some 170 kilometers east of Seoul, on May 22. Yonhap

Less than a week ahead of the presidential election, online communities and the media were filled with photos of election posters that had tears through candidates' faces or had been drawn on.

"You can tell if one deliberately meant to destroy the posters when you see drawings of a mustache or cigarette burns on a candidate's photo," said a worker at a company that manages election posters for one of 49 constituencies in Seoul.

The worker, who asked to go by his surname Lee for fear of recognition, said he has received about a dozen reports of destroyed election posters.

Though just a handful of them appeared to have been sullied intentionally, Lee said he was still startled by the stark difference with previous elections.

"This is the third election I'm handling, but the first time I've received so many calls from the police asking me to take care of destroyed posters," he said.

The June 3 election, which follows the ouster of former President Yoon Suk Yeol over his short-lived martial law declaration in December, takes place at a turbulent time for South Korea's political landscape, ripe with hostility and hatred between opposite ends of the ideological spectrum.

As of May 23, police had caught 690 people for destroying election banners or posters, and referred 12 of them to the prosecution. One of them was later arrested on related charges.

This is roughly twice the number compared with previous elections, according to police accounts.

A company official in charge of managing election posters in a western district in Seoul said the number of destroyed posters was far larger this time around, noting roughly 20 of them had been destroyed in the district so far, including a couple that appeared to have been damaged deliberately.

The official asked to remain anonymous for fear of being disadvantaged at work during the next election.

The National Election Commission (NEC) said it had asked the police to investigate 90 cases of destroyed election posters and banners as of Wednesday, far exceeding the 45 cases in the 2022 presidential election.

Experts point to steep polarization in society and a growing number of people "acting out" their thoughts as reasons for the jump in election crimes.

Lim Myung-ho, a psychology professor at Dankook University, said denouncing or loathing an opponent is much more "efficient" than highlighting one's own strengths.

More people have gone out of their way to act out what used to be inner thoughts, Lim says, reflecting how uneasy people have become.

"When people become anxious about potentially not being able to fulfill things they assert or want, it tends to lead to action," he added.

Lee Jae-mook, a professor at Hankuk University of Foreign Studies teaching political science and international relations, said the destroyed election posters were a "manifestation of erroneous political desire" that reflects hatred toward the opponent.

"Politicians employing 'negative tactics' and partisanship in elections will only divide the country further," he said.

A growing chasm in political views has also led to terror threats and violence against politicians.

Lee Jae-myung, the Democratic Party of Korea's (DPK) presidential candidate and front-runner to replace Yoon in the presidential election next week, has set up bulletproof glass panels at his campaign rallies, the first time in the nation's history that a presidential candidate had them made and installed for safety reasons. He also wears a bulletproof vest weighing over 3 kilograms at all rallies.

The DPK has claimed it received repeated threats against the presidential candidate, including one suggesting a "monster" sniper rifle with a range of up to 2 kilometers was illegally imported, though the claim was not verified by police.

The National Police Agency said Monday it received 11 cases of posts threatening to kill Lee, and one against Lee Jun-seok, presidential candidate of the minor conservative Reform Party (RP).

Asked why the party decided to place so much focus on the candidate's safety, Park Kyung-mi, the DPK's election committee spokesperson, said they had received specific reports of terror threats.

"We received many tip-offs of highly detailed terror threats against the candidate, including one of a gun imported through Incheon International Airport," Park told Yonhap News Agency, noting last year's knife attack on Lee had also been a factor in their emphasis on security.

Lee survived a knife attack on Jan. 2 last year, when an attacker posing as a supporter asking for his signature stabbed him in the neck during a visit to the southeastern port city of Busan.

During a rally in Gyeonggi Province last week, conservative People Power Party (PPP) candidate Kim Moon-soo showed his chest free of a vest to contrast himself with his rival.

"(Kim) is giving the message that he doesn't need excessive security, and he doesn't hide behind bulletproof glass so that he can approach people and their livelihoods at a closer range," said Choi Young-hae, the party's election committee spokesperson, during a phone call with Yonhap News Agency.

Terror attacks against politicians are not new, but their methods have evolved over the years and have been exacerbated by polarization, according to Seol Dong-hoon, professor of sociology at Jeonbuk National University.

"In the 1970s under the authoritarian government, there were political bully-boys to do the job, but after democratization, such (terror attacks) are carried out using indirect methods, such as instigation or demonization (of the other side)," he said.

Professor Lee Jae-mook said conservatives and liberals alike have accumulated loathing for one another as the country has experienced two impeachments of sitting presidents.

"This election has become something like a war between minds," he lamented.