Negative campaigning overshadows local elections

Voters walk past election posters in Seoul, Wednesday. Newsis

Korea’s June 3 local elections have entered their final stretch amid a surge of allegations and political attacks, with negative campaign tactics overshadowing races across major battlegrounds.

Just days before voters head to the polls, candidates in key cities and provinces have traded accusations ranging from misinformation to illegal election interference. This reflects a familiar end-of-campaign pattern, but this year in particular highlights rising concerns over digital manipulation and the political neutrality of public officials.

In Seoul, the ruling Democratic Party of Korea’s (DPK) mayoral candidate Chong Won-o filed a complaint Friday against incumbent Mayor Oh Se-hoon of the People Power Party (PPP), alleging organized online defamation and opinion manipulation. This follows a media report claiming Oh’s campaign was involved in systematically producing and distributing negative content about his rival. Oh's camp has denied the allegations as groundless.

Similar clashes have emerged in Busan, where the PPP accused DPK candidate Chun Jae-soo of spreading false information about incumbent mayor Park Heong-joon. Last week, the PPP lodged a complaint with police, taking issue with Chun’s claims that Park’s spouse and an artist from her gallery had accompanied him on his official government trip to Paris in January 2022. The PPP said the claim was entirely fabricated, stating that Park’s wife did not travel abroad that month. It added that the artist, a Paris-based resident, only briefly visited the delegation locally and did not accompany the mayor from Korea.

Beyond high-profile races, concerns are growing over the role of public officials in election activities. In South Gyeongsang Province, Gov. Park Wan-su was accused of mobilizing provincial government officials to produce and distribute a deepfake video targeting his DPK rival Kim Kyoung-soo.

Similar allegations were brought up against Cheon Ho-seong, a liberal candidate for education superintendent in North Jeolla Province. His rival accused him of receiving organized support from current principals, teachers and education office staff through online chat rooms before the official campaign period began.

Korean law prohibits public officials from engaging in political activities that could influence elections. The Ministry of the Interior and Safety said Sunday that it has launched joint inspections with local governments to monitor possible violations of political neutrality.

While the ministry has not disclosed specific figures for cases currently under investigation, police data shows that as of Tuesday, a total of 126 cases related to unlawful election activities — including public official involvement — have been formally reported or are under probe since January 2025. During the 2022 local elections, 56 such cases involving public officials were recorded, according to the National Election Commission’s data.