South Korean court fines man, 63, for tearing ballot after YouTube fake news
In short
A 63-year-old voter in Chungju was given a 2.5 million won fine with a one-year suspended sentence for tearing up a ballot paper at a polling station on June 3, the day of South Korea's nationwide local elections. The Cheongju District Court's Chungju branch said he acted after seeing YouTube fake news claiming blank ballots could be fraudulently stamped. The court said the offence harmed election fairness and the peace of voting but took his admission into account.
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A court in Chungju, South Korea, sentenced a 63-year-old voter to a 2.5 million won fine with a one-year suspended sentence for tearing up a ballot paper at a polling station, Yonhap reported on October 5. The Chungju branch of the Cheongju District Court handed down the ruling on Public Official Election Act charges, and the business outlet Newsis carried a headline reporting the same suspended fine. [ 1 , 2 ]
The offence took place on June 3, the day of the ninth nationwide simultaneous local elections, at a polling station in Chungju. The defendant, identified only by the surname A, was indicted without detention. During the trial he said he had not decided whom to vote for, but feared that an empty ballot would be used fraudulently. [ 1 ]
He told the court he had seen fake news on YouTube claiming that blank ballots placed in the ballot box could be stamped by someone to rig the election. He admitted the act and said he now understood that such reports were false and that he was deeply reflecting on the matter. [ 1 ]
Presiding judge Lim Yun-han of the court's second criminal division said the offence was not light because it damaged the fairness of the election and the peace of voting. He said the court had taken into account that the defendant admitted the crime and appeared to have acted without a proper understanding of the relevant rules. [ 1 ]
Why it matters
The case is a court finding that false election claims circulating on video platforms can push voters into criminal acts, and the sentence signals that damaging ballots is treated as a serious offence against election fairness. Because the ruling comes from a lower court and the documents give no wider figures, its reach beyond this single defendant is not established.
Key facts
- The Chungju branch of the Cheongju District Court sentenced a 63-year-old man to a 2.5 million won fine with a one-year suspended sentence on Public Official Election Act charges. [ 1 ]
- He was found to have torn a ballot paper at a polling station in Chungju on June 3, the day of the ninth nationwide simultaneous local elections. [ 1 ]
- The court announced the ruling on October 5. [ 1 ]
- The defendant said he could not decide whom to vote for but feared an empty ballot would be used fraudulently. [ 1 ]
- He told the trial he had seen fake news on YouTube claiming blank ballots placed in the box could be stamped by someone to rig the election. [ 1 , 2 ]
- Presiding judge Lim Yun-han said the offence harmed election fairness and the peace of voting, but took into account his admission and that he appeared not to know the relevant rules. [ 1 ]
Confirmed by several sources
- A man in his 60s received a fine with a suspended sentence for damaging a ballot after being misled by fake news about election fraud. [ 1 , 2 ]
- The Chungju branch of the Cheongju District Court sentenced the 63-year-old man to a 2.5 million won fine with a one-year suspended sentence for violating the Public Official Election Act. [ 1 ]
- He tore a ballot paper at a Chungju polling station on June 3, the day of the ninth nationwide simultaneous local elections. [ 1 ]
- The defendant said he acted after seeing YouTube fake news claiming blank ballots could be fraudulently stamped, and that he now regards such claims as false. [ 1 , 2 ]
- The court said the offence harmed election fairness and the peace of voting, while considering his admission and apparent unfamiliarity with the rules. [ 1 ]
Still unclear
- Whether the defendant has appealed the ruling. The documents do not say whether either side will appeal.
- The defendant's full identity. He is identified only as a 63-year-old surnamed A in the court report.
- What Newsis's report added beyond its headline. The article text carried under the Newsis headline deals with an unrelated DMZ mine explosion, so no further detail on this case comes from that outlet.
What local media are saying
Timeline, local time
- The man tears a ballot paper at a polling station in Chungju on the day of the ninth nationwide simultaneous local elections. [ 1 ]
- Yonhap reports that the Chungju branch of the Cheongju District Court sentenced him to a 2.5 million won fine with a one-year suspended sentence. [ 1 ]
- Newsis carries a headline reporting the same suspended fine for the 60-something man. [ 2 ]