The National Election Commission (NEC) of the Republic of Korea submitted to the National Assembly a revised bill on the political laws which focuses on strengthening transparency of political funds while expanding freedom of election campaigning and party activities, and ensuring the suffrage on May 25th.

The current political laws have been criticised that election campaigns were overly limited in which freedom of political expression of voters were suppressed despite the heightened public awareness of political participation and improved election culture.

In order to meet the needs of changing times and improve the issues that surfaced during the last election, the NEC finalized the revised bill by listening to opinions from every walk of life followed by a profound review and discussion in a plenary meeting of the Commission.

The main changes that the NEC includes in the revised bill are as follows: for expansion of freedom of election campaigns for preliminary candidates, the revised bill expands a campaigning period and methods; it eases the restrictions for legal campaigning activities by abolishing limits on the frequency of newspaper advertisements, broadcast advertisements, and broadcast speeches of candidates. It also allows a mock voting for ineligible adolescents for voting for the purpose of education, and the results of public opinion polls on primary elections and a competition to elect a single candidate are to be announced and broadcast.

Especially, with an aim to ensure the suffrage in practice, the revised bill permits voters who are home or facility quarantined due to emergency cases of infectious diseases to participate in home voting; as for the visually or physically impaired voters, their activity assistants are allowed to assist them for their voting.

To help people live their lives in peace, the revised bill restricts the output and time of use for loudspeakers for speeches and interviews at public places; in aiming to help voters make an informed decision, it also includes a foundation upon which the personal information of a candidate who has not returned a reimbursement of the election expenses due to invalidation of election can be disclosed. Furthermore, the reported assets of an elected candidate are to be disclosed till the expiration of the statute of limitations.

The eligible age for a party membership is lowered to the age of 16. Provided that prevention of party privatization by the party representative, and reduction of high-cost and transparency of accounting are ensured, the bill allows the establishment of Gu/Si/Gun party offices through which people can participate in the formation of political opinions.

The current laws which prioritize to give subsidies to the parties that have a negotiation group is to be abolished, so that they can be distributed reasonably in line with voters’ support. The revised bill enables parties to collect contributions through online donation service, however, the reports on revenues and expenditures by political parties shall be disclosed on the internet at all times to ensure transparency.

Since the NEC submitted a revised bill on the Public Official Election Act last April to expand freedom of political expressions using facilities, printed matter, and campaign goods, the NEC said that it hopes to improve the election systems properly with the revised bill submitted this time with the consensus within the political circles as the presidential and local elections are coming soon next year.

The main contents of the revised bill on the political laws are below:

Public Official Election Act

■ Expansion of the election campaigning periods and methods for preliminary candidates

-> A preliminary candidate’s registration starting day changes to:

1. A Presidential election: From 240 days to a year before election day

2. Elections for constituency members of the National Assembly, elections of Mayors, Do Governors: From 120 days to 240 days before election day

-> A spouse or a lineal ascendant and a descendant of a preliminary candidate are allowed to wear sashes and indicating materials, and to distribute promoting materials themselves for the preliminary candidate; it permits for a preliminary candidate to hold an announcement ceremony of candidacy once, so that his/her pledges and political views can be promoted.

■ Abolish and loosen the restrictions on the legal election campaigning methods of a candidate

-> Abolish the restrictive provisions on the frequency of newspaper advertisements, broadcast advertisements and broadcast speeches of a candidate, and on the size of a video recorder for motor vehicles used for speeches and interviews at public places

-> Allow newspaper advertisements, broadcast advertisements, broadcast speeches in all elections; loosen the restrictive provisions on the methods of a candidate’s election campaigning, including newspaper advertisements, broadcast advertisements, and broadcast speeches on comprehensive programming channels.

■ Allow a mock voting for ineligible adolescents for voting for the purpose of education

-> A mock voting which is implemented for academic and educational purpose for ineligible adolescents for voting is excluded from public opinion polls on elections, so that the efficient education will take place.

■ Allow an announcement and a broadcast of public opinion polls for primary elections and a competition to elect a single candidate.

-> In case of public opinion polls substituted for primary elections, and for electing a single candidate, the provisions of prohibition and limitation on announcements and broadcast are to be excluded, therefore, announcements and broadcast can be made.

■ Expansion of eligibility of home voting in case of emergency such as spread of infectious diseases

-> Expand eligibility for those who are home or facility quarantined to register for home voting in case of emergency such as spread of infectious diseases

■ Introduction of limited postal voting for overseas elections and change of voting time

-> Introduction of limited postal voting: in case overseas voters are not able to vote in the overseas voters’ polling stations due to unavoidable cases of the host country such as spread of infectious diseases, the bill stipulates a foundation, under which a postal voting can be an option considering the postal environment of the host country.

-> Management of voting hours of overseas polling stations: in case it is difficult for voters to keep the voting time due to unavoidable reasons such as spread of infectious diseases, the bill stipulates a foundation for making a change of voting time.

■ Expanding the scope of review of the Internet Election News Deliberation Commission

-> Apart from the web-sites of internet press agencies, any election news published on the broadcasting channel that the relevant internet press agencies manage and operate such as Youtube are to be subjected to deliberation.

■ Ensuring the effectiveness on redeeming the reimbursement of election expenses of a candidate in case of invalidation of election

-> If a candidate does not complete the returning of the reimbursement till the deadline of the return date, the personal information of the candidate who has not returned, a reason for the return and the amount are to be disclosed on the web-site of the election commission; also the name of the candidate will be notified to the party.

■ Additional confirmation on an asset report of an elected candidate after the term of office begins

-> After the term of office of an elected candidate begins, if the NEC discovers any intended concealment or omission upon the completion of comparison and verification between the asset report that the elected candidate should register to the relevant organizations and the asset report submitted at the time of candidate registration, pertinent measures are to be taken.

-> An asset report submitted at the time of candidate registration is to be disclosed till the expiration of the statute of limitations.

■ Reimbursement of the reduced amount of election expenses for a party which the national subsidy was paid to

-> In case of reimbursing election expenses to a party which the national subsidies were paid to for an election including presidential election, etc., the party is to be reimbursed with the reduced amount deducting from the expenses spent from election subsidies.

■ Restriction on the noises of the loudspeakers for speeches and interviews at public places

-> Limit the rated power: Use loudspeakers within the rated power only(3KW for motor vehicles, 30W for portable ones)

* As for the loudspeakers for motor vehicles, the rated power of 2KW-5KW took up 73.8% out of all cases in the 21st National Assembly elections. Considering that the rated power of 3KW-5KW was appropriate for speeches and interviews, 3KW was suggested; as for portable loudspeakers(30W), with a consideration of purpose of use, the rated power was drawn from the standards of 20M and 70dB.

-> (Restriction on the time of use) Reduce the hours of use for the loudspeakers

■ Expansion of election participation for ineligible adolescents, and protection of their rights to learn

-> Allow the adolescents with the age of 16 or older to participate in the early voting and counting observation -> ’Schools on school days’ are to be included as a place where solicitation of election participation, distribution of name cards of (preliminary) candidates, and speeches and interviews are prohibited so as to protect the educational rights of students and teachers.

-> Exclude ‘schools on school days’ from the list of public places which many people pass through and campaigning for candidates are allowed, so that the whole facilities inside schools will be precisely designated as a place where the distribution of election promoting materials are prohibited.

Political Parties Act and Political Fund Act

■ Allow the formation of Gu/Si/Gun party offices

[Premises] Ensuring transparency of accounting and prevention of party privatization by the party representative

-> Reinforce life politics: Approve the formation of Gu/Si/Gun party offices, so that a party can be consisted of a central party in the capital city and Gu/Si/Gun party offices in the local Gu/Si/Gun.

-> Prevent party privatization: Representatives of Gu/Si/Gun party offices are to be elected in a meeting such as the general meeting through a secret ballot; for candidacy of public officials, a candidate shall resign from his/her post a year before election day.

-> Reduce high-cost, and ensure transparency of accounting: 10% of the current subsidy is to be distributed to Gu/Si/Gun party offices, and the contributors can designate the Gu/Si/Gun party offices for contribution of political funds. An accounting report on revenues and expenditures of the national subsidy and contributions is mandatory.

■ Lower the age for a party membership to 16

-> Lower the age for a party membership, so that anyone who is 16 or older can become a party member or a promoter.

■ Allow the collection of contributions through a funding service of social media

-> Allow the Political Fund Associations (PFAs) appointer to collect contributions through a funding service of viewers from social media such as Youtube.

■ Allow internet advertisements to raise political funds

-> Abolish the restrictions on the frequency and the size of the advertisements for raising funds using newspapers, and allow PFAs to advertise for raising political funds through the web-sites of the internet press agencies

■ Improve distribution measures of the national subsidy

-> Abolish equal distributions of 50 % of eligible subsidy to parties that have a negotiating group; instead distribute in accordance with the number of seats and votes obtained at the last National Assembly elections.

■ Disclose the revenues and expenditures of political funds through the internet at all times

-> Disclose the detailed report on monthly revenues and expenditures of political funds till the 5th of the following month on the internet through the public system of the relevant election commission at all times

-> Require the submission of the accounting report in the form of electronic file, and for the NEC to take measures for anyone to search and download the report on the revenues and expenditures of the political funds