TAEBAEK, South Korea — A major political scandal has erupted in the city of Taebaek, Gangwon State, after an electronic billboard inside the municipal city hall prematurely displayed a graphic celebrating the re-election of the incumbent mayor, just a day before the official voting for the local elections was scheduled to begin. The incident has triggered fierce backlash from the opposition party, raising serious allegations of illegal bureaucratic election interference and state-managed campaigning.
According to local political sources on June 3, a digital banner was spotted broadcasting on the internal display screens of the Taebaek City Hall on the evening of June 2. The screen prominently featured the text, "Congratulations to Mayor Lee Sang-ho on your election victory," accompanied by a high-resolution photograph of Candidate Lee Sang-ho—who is running under the ticket of the ruling People Power Party (PPP)—alongside an illustration of a celebratory bouquet of flowers. The broadcast occurred well before voters headed to the polls, and long before a single ballot could be officially cast or counted.
As images of the premature victory message quickly spread across social media platforms, the Gangwon Provincial Chapter of the main opposition Democratic Party of Korea (DPK) issued a scathing statement condemning the municipal government. "Displaying a message that presumes and celebrates the victory of a specific candidate before the election results are even determined is an egregious act that severely undermines the fairness and integrity of the democratic electoral process," the DPK stated.
The opposition party further pointed out that this is not an isolated incident of administrative oversight, suggesting instead a coordinated effort by local public servants to tip the scales in favor of the incumbent. The DPK highlighted a recent controversy where a Taebaek public official was referred to the prosecution on charges of violating the Public Official Election Act after systematically posting and promoting Mayor Lee’s promotional interview articles on social media.
"The fact that a digital congratulatory banner was put up before official campaigning even concluded goes far beyond a simple clerical error by an individual staffer," the DPK statement read. "It serves as undeniable evidence reinforcing suspicions that the public servant network in Taebaek is being organized and mobilized to systematically interfere in the election."
The DPK fiercely denounced the city administration for "tainting the local election—the very flower of democracy and local autonomy—with archaic government-mobilized campaign tactics." The opposition demanded that the Taebaek municipal government immediately launch an internal investigation to clarify the decision-making process behind the banner's production and broadcast, and fully disclose the names and roles of all personnel involved. They also called on the National Election Commission (NEC) and law enforcement authorities to conduct a rigorous investigation, while demanding a comprehensive overhaul of the operating guidelines for public communication channels to prevent future occurrences.
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