A controversy has erupted in the island villages of Sinan County in South Jeolla Province ahead of the June 3 local elections, with allegations that personal information of residents who transferred their registration to receive basic income has been leaked, following an earlier scandal involving illegal ghost party members of the Democratic Party.
The campaign office of Park Woo-ryang, a Democratic Party preliminary candidate for Sinan County mayor, issued a statement Saturday calling for a thorough investigation by relevant authorities. "Reports have been received that residents who transferred to Sinan County after the second half of 2025 have been intensively receiving similar political text messages and phone calls," the statement said. "An objective investigation and fact-finding on the overall management of personal information and how contact details were obtained is necessary."
Informants who alerted Park's camp said the text messages began on April 27 and that illegal messages capable of influencing the election were sent repeatedly.
Park's campaign office said, "At this stage, we cannot conclude that personal information has been leaked. However, if it is true that political text messages and phone calls were selectively made to basic income applicants among recent transferees, a transparent investigation and verification of the entire process of personal information use is necessary."
The office added, "Relevant authorities need to closely review whether the repeated sending of text messages and phone calls targeting a specific group ahead of the election conflicts with the purpose of the Public Official Election Act and the Personal Information Protection Act."
The key issue in this illegal political messaging is the "source of the information." As evidence emerged that the messages were intensively sent to residents who recently transferred to Sinan County, strong suspicions have arisen that the list of transferees held by administrative agencies may have been leaked externally.
In particular, since many of the text messages were found to contain content defaming candidate Park Woo-ryang, violations of the Public Official Election Act have also been raised. Above all, Articles 15 and 17 of the current Personal Information Protection Act strictly restrict the collection of personal information or its provision to third parties without the consent of the information subject, and violations are subject to criminal punishment.
Park's camp said it has secured numerous reports of suspected election law violations along with recordings and audio evidence. The camp called for an investigation into how the text messages and phone calls were sent to transferees, verification of the process and legality of obtaining contact information, strict measures when violations are confirmed, and an inspection and disclosure of the management system for residents' personal information.
