Candidate’s SNS Posts Received 78 ‘Likes’... Jeju Official Caught Violating Election Neutrality

【Financial News Jeju = Reporter Yong-bok Jeong】 A Seogwipo City public official was found during an audit to have clicked ‘Like’ 78 times over nearly two months on election-related Facebook posts by a preliminary candidate for the Jeju Provincial Council who was running in the June 3 local elections. The case shows that even without writing campaign posts directly, continuously and repeatedly reacting to election-related posts by a specific candidate may undermine a public official’s duty of political neutrality.
According to the ‘Investigation Results on Specific Matters in the Nationwide Simultaneous Local Elections’ released by the Jeju Special Self-Governing Province Audit Committee on the 15th, official A, affiliated with Seogwipo City, clicked ‘Like’ a total of 78 times on election-related Facebook posts by preliminary Jeju Provincial Council candidate D between March 18 and May 14.
A used a personal Facebook account. A separate record released by the audit committee lists, by date, the ‘Like’ activity left on election-related posts from March 18 to May 14.
The key point in the investigation was that the conduct was not a one-time SNS reaction but was repeated over a considerable period on election posts by a specific candidate.
Ahead of the 9th Nationwide Simultaneous Local Elections held on June 3, the audit committee conducted a special inspection of public officials’ election neutrality and public-service discipline from March 23 to June 2, during which it confirmed the conduct.
The committee then obtained a written explanation from A between May 20 and June 23 and verified the relevant facts. Following an internal review, the investigation results were finalized through a resolution of the audit committee on August 24.
The audit committee determined that A’s repeated clicks on ‘Like’ violated public officials’ duty of political neutrality under the Public Official Election Act.
Article 9 of the Public Official Election Act prohibits public officials and others required to maintain political neutrality from improperly influencing elections or engaging in conduct that affects election results.
The duty of good faith under the Local Public Officials Act was also cited as a basis for the determination. All local public officials must comply with laws and regulations and perform their duties faithfully.
The National Election Commission (NEC) also provides specific standards for SNS activity in its guidance on public officials’ involvement in elections.
The guidance identifies as major violation cases both creating an SNS account or rapidly increasing followers or friends shortly before election day to write or share election-related posts, and continuously and repeatedly clicking ‘Like’ on election-related posts by a specific candidate.
Therefore, the mere fact that a ‘Like’ was clicked on a personal SNS account does not automatically violate the principle of political neutrality for public officials. In this case, the determination considered the target—a specific candidate’s election-related posts—the total of 78 clicks, and the fact that the conduct continued repeatedly for about two months.
During the audit, A explained, “I clicked ‘Like’ on the posts to support D’s run in the local elections because we have known each other for a long time.” A also submitted a statement expressing regret for causing concern and pledging to uphold the duty of political neutrality more strictly as a public official going forward.
The audit committee requested that the Seogwipo mayor admonish A.
The case demonstrates that public officials’ duty of election neutrality applies not only to offline conduct, such as participating in campaign activities or making public statements of support. Repeatedly spreading a specific candidate’s election content or expressing support through a personal SNS account may also become subject to an audit or investigation, depending on the frequency and duration, the target, and the impact on the election.
As campaigning rapidly shifts toward SNS platforms, the boundaries for assessing public officials’ political neutrality have expanded to include online activity. In future elections, not only writing and sharing posts but also seemingly lighter digital reactions, such as ‘likes,’ are expected to become areas requiring greater caution from public officials.


[email protected] Yong-bok Jeong Reporter