"Please Vote" Banner with Only Red... Tongyeong City with a Mayor from the People Power Party

[Financial News]   Tongyeong City, Gyeongnam, has put up voting encouragement banners ahead of the 21st presidential election, using only the red color reminiscent of a specific party, raising concerns about bias.

According to Tongyeong City on the 27th, 15 banners encouraging participation in the vote with the phrase 'Please vote in the 21st presidential election' and the dates and times of early voting and main voting have been hung throughout the city.

The banners used only two colors: white and red. The phrase 'Please vote in the 21st presidential election' is displayed in red on a white background, while the dates and times of early voting and main voting are shown in white on a red background.

There has been some negative public opinion about why Tongyeong City, with a mayor from the People Power Party, used colors reminiscent of a specific party during a sensitive period to make voting encouragement banners.

In a local cafe in Tongyeong City, there were posts pointing out "It reminds of a specific party" along with concerns like "Tongyeong's symbolic color is blue" and "It embarrasses Tongyeong nationwide." Some also criticized, saying "Think about working fairly with citizens' taxes" or "Even if it's not a violation of election law, work with fairness and common sense." They also posted an example of a black-and-white banner from Gyeongju City.

The Tongyeong City side stated, "We used red to make it stand out and put up the banners after receiving a response from the election commission that there was 'no problem.' Since some citizens are raising issues, we are considering adjusting the banner locations."

The election commission also stated that they cannot prohibit or sanction the posting based solely on the color of the banners.

y27k@fnnews.com Seo Yoon-kyung Reporter