The Kyunghyang Shinmun homepage. Based on the remarks of an anonymous election commission official, the conclusion "no problem" was attached to the fact-check title.

A controversy arose regarding the exposure of a ballot during President Lee Jae-myung's early voting.

The released photo shows President Lee holding an unfolded ballot and asking an election official outside the voting booth for clarification. Kyunghyang Shinmun also reported that President Lee pointed to the ballot and asked about its marked status and whether it was invalid.

The photo is physical evidence that an unfolded ballot was presented outside the voting booth, and the article content is circumstantial evidence supporting that the ballot was cast.

The issue is simple: does the act of showing a cast ballot, unfolded, to an election official outside the voting booth constitute a "publicly disclosed ballot" under the Public Official Election Act?

The Law Prohibits the Disclosure of "Marked Ballots"

Article 167, Paragraph 3 of the Public Official Election Act stipulates that an elector cannot publicly disclose their marked ballot, and a publicly disclosed ballot shall be deemed invalid. The law does not base its judgment on "who actually saw the contents of the mark." It asks whether "one's own marked ballot" was disclosed.

Therefore, whether the candidate marked was identifiable is not the essential criterion. The issue is that a marked ballot was presented in a state where a third party could see it, unfolded.

The Election Commission's Standard in the Previous Presidential Election Was "Showing It Makes It Invalid"

The Election Commission's guidelines in the previous presidential election were the same.

Ahead of the 21st Presidential Election's early voting, the Seoul Metropolitan Election Commission announced that if an elector brings a marked ballot out of the voting booth and shows it to the election manager, it will be considered a publicly disclosed ballot under Article 167 of the Public Official Election Act and will be invalidated.

The Ulsan Metropolitan Election Commission also stated that showing a marked ballot to the election manager would render it a publicly disclosed ballot and thus invalidate it.

According to this standard, the conclusion is clear.

The publicly released photo confirms that President Lee Jae-myung took an unfolded, marked ballot outside the voting booth and presented it to an election official. Therefore, the ballot should be considered a publicly disclosed ballot under Article 167, Paragraph 3 of the Public Official Election Act and the Election Commission's previous presidential election disclosure standards, and thus be invalidated.

Intent Is Not an Essential Criterion

Kyunghyang Shinmun's fact-check missed this core point. Kyunghyang Shinmun, citing an anonymous election commission official, published a headline stating, "No problem if there's no intent."

However, intent can only be a secondary factor considered in cases of accidental exposure, such as accidentally dropping a ballot. In cases like this, where a marked ballot is taken out unfolded, the first thing to consider is whether it was disclosed.

The interpretation of the Public Official Election Act and its enforcement regulations hinges on the state of disclosure, not on intent. If it is deemed a publicly disclosed ballot, it is invalid. The explanation of no intent cannot be a basis for overturning the legal provision that invalidates publicly disclosed ballots.

"You Shouldn't Show It" Is Not a Basis for "No Problem"

Furthermore, Kyunghyang Shinmun's article also includes a statement from the on-site early voting manager telling President Lee, "You shouldn't show it."

This statement is not a basis for claiming there is no problem. Rather, it confirms the election management principle that marked ballots should not be shown.

It can be seen as a warning issued because the unfolded ballot was already outside the voting booth. The problem is that the warning was not enough. What the Election Commission should have done was invalidate the ballot as a publicly disclosed one.

Overall Verdict

The verdict of this fact-check is clear.

Based on the photo and the article content, it is confirmed that President Lee's ballot was publicly disclosed outside the voting booth in an unfolded state after being marked. The photo is physical evidence, and Kyunghyang Shinmun's article content is circumstantial evidence supporting that it was a post-marking ballot.

Article 167, Paragraph 3 of the Public Official Election Act stipulates that publicly disclosed ballots are invalid. The Election Commission's disclosure standards from the previous presidential election also guided that if a marked ballot is brought out and shown to the election manager, it is considered a publicly disclosed ballot and will be invalidated.

Therefore, it is correct for President Lee Jae-myung's ballot to be considered a publicly disclosed ballot and invalidated. Kyunghyang Shinmun's conclusion of "no problem if there's no intent" is a judgment that bypasses the legal provisions and the Election Commission's existing standards.