Following the official campaign launch for the presidential election, reports have been received from across the country regarding the damage to campaign posters of presidential candidates, prompting police to launch an investigation.
According to police on the 18th, a report was received around 1 a.m. that a campaign poster installed near Bukhansan Ui Station in the Uidong area of Gangbuk District, Seoul, had been damaged. Investigations revealed that the poster contained posters of all candidates, including Lee Jae-myung of the Democratic Party of Korea and Kim Moon-soo of the People Power Party.
In Ulsan, around 2 p.m. that day, a police officer from the patrol unit discovered a hole in the left eye of a campaign poster for Lee Jae-myung affixed to a sidewalk near Polytechnics University in Jung District. That same day in Dal-dong, Nam District, Ulsan, it was confirmed that the left eye of Lee Jae-myung's poster was burned with a cigarette.
In Jeju, a report was received by police around 12 p.m. that a campaign poster for the presidential election posted near Nohyeong Elementary School in Jeju City had been damaged.
On the 17th, multiple reports of damage to presidential candidate campaign posters were received in Gyeonggi Province. In Paju City, a report was received stating that a campaign poster for Lee Jae-myung had been damaged in front of an apartment in Sannae Village, Mokdong-dong, around 3 a.m. the previous day. A similar report was received around 4:30 p.m. the previous day in the Homaesil-dong area of Gwonseon District, Suwon, stating that a campaign poster had been damaged; part of Lee Jae-myung's face was reported to have been torn off from the poster.
Police are investigating the exact circumstances based on closed-circuit television (CCTV) footage and other evidence. According to the Korean National Police Agency, 850 individuals were referred for prosecution for allegations of damaging banners and posters during the 2022 presidential election. According to the election law, individuals who damage election posters or banners without justifiable reasons can face up to two years in prison or fines of up to 4 million won.