Ulsan City: "This Time, Please Vote" Democratic Party: "Misleading as Number 2, A Shallow Trick"

【Financial News Ulsan=Choi Su-sang Reporter】 A banner posted by Ulsan City to encourage early voting is causing controversy over election neutrality in the public office. The phrase on the banner, reminiscent of candidate Kim Mun-su of the People Power Party's number 2, is the issue.
According to Ulsan City on the 27th, two early voting encouragement banners have been posted in each town and village in the Ulsan area since the 26th.
The banners were produced in two types with the phrases "Vote for Korea" and "This Time, Please Vote."
The controversy arose over the second phrase "This Time, Please Vote."
The Democratic Party Ulsan City Election Committee's Public Relations Team stated in a commentary that "anyone can see that the phrase uses the similarity in sound between 'this time' and 'number 2,'" adding that "it is a phrase likely to cause misunderstanding, and it is a shallow trick by a public official who should maintain strict neutrality, ultimately mocking the citizens of Ulsan."

They further criticized, "No civil servant would voluntarily hang such a banner with this phrase, risking violation of election laws," adding, "It's clearly an order from above, a reckless act."
They also remarked, "It reminds me of Mayor Kim Du-gyeom, who casually makes anachronistic statements like 'Let's defeat the Communist Party, crush the Reds,' and urged, "Mayor Kim should apologize to the citizens of Ulsan for his shallow tricks and at least pretend to be aware of public sentiment if he knows how frightening it is."
In response, Ulsan City stated that both banner phrases were produced after consulting with the Ulsan City Election Commission and that there were no issues.
A city official said, "The phrases and color designs were created reflecting the election commission's opinion that specific parties, numbers, or colors should not be emphasized," adding, "One phrase was borrowed from the election commission's campaign, and the other was created internally but was found to have no issues in the election commission's review."
The colors used in the phrases were also explained by Ulsan City as being mixed red and blue equally or using unrelated pink.
The Ulsan City Election Commission stated, "The phrase alone does not pose a risk of violating election laws."
Regarding suspicions of Mayor Kim's involvement in the banner production, they stated, "It was handled as a preliminary decision by the department head," adding, "The mayor does not approve the banner phrases."
Meanwhile, in Busan City, a similar voting encouragement banner became controversial the previous day, prompting the Central Election Commission to state, "The phrase 'The citizens who voted this time win!' was not allowed as it could be interpreted as 'Vote for number 2' and could remind people of a specific party."

ulsan@fnnews.com Choi Su-sang Reporter