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There are different types of individuals with hearing disabilities such as those who use Korean sign language as their first language and have difficulty understanding the Korean language and those who cannot use Korean sign language but are able to understand the Korean language. Korean sign language is the common language for hearing-impaired Koreans and has equal status as the Korean language. As people who have acquired the Korean language as their mother tongue have to study anew a foreign language, persons with hearing disabilities who use Korean sign language as their first language consider learning the Korean language the same as learning a foreign language. People with hearing disabilities cannot get election information through auditory means and particularly those who have difficulty reading and understanding the Korean language cannot even get such information through election campaigns using visual means or print media. Accordingly, there is a great need to provide Korean sign language or captions when broadcasting election programs through television, a universal medium. To ensure that all people with hearing disabilities get election information, they should be broadcast with both Korean sign language and captions. It should be especially noted that the broadcast of election programs is almost the only means for the hearingimpaired who use Korean sign language as their first language and have difficulty understanding the Korean language to acquire election information. Even considering other laws, captions in the Election Broadcast Programs of this case, except for broadcast advertisements, are the only ones provided as mandatory by terrestrial broadcasting businesses or program providers that engage in general programming or specialized programming of news reports. However, given that the Election Broadcast Programs of this case may be provided through CATV broadcasting businesses and others, and that the broadcast of such programs with Korean sign language is indispensable, the broadcast of aforementioned captions alone does not seem to provide sufficient 105 election information for the hearing-impaired. Since broadcasting business entities which are obliged to provide a certain portion of broadcasts for persons with disabilities under the existing law have already secured staff, facilities and technical level required to broadcast Korean sign language or captions, imposing on them the obligation of airing the Election Broadcast Programs of this case with Korean sign language or captions does not seem to put too much financial burden on the State or an excessive restraint on the freedom of broadcasting and programming of a broadcasting business operator and on the freedom of election campaign of a candidate or a political party. The topics covered in the Election Broadcast Programs of this case may become a subject of public discussion and decisively influence the perception of the general public. Without presumption that people with hearing impairment are able to understand the Election Broadcast Programs of this case, the issue of discrimination against them is highly unlikely to be covered in such programs. The

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2017Hun-Ma813

Judgment

Question Presented: Whether any of the following alleged acts violate citizens’ constitutional rights to vote or equality under the law: 1) denying a soldier’s request to watch presidential election interviews and debates; 2) requiring election campaign bulletins written in braille to be within the page limits for booklet-type campaign bulletins; and 3) failing to require Korean sign language or captions in all election-related broadcasts.

Alleged Acts: Complainant Yoon alleges that his platoon leader infringed on his right to vote and to equality under the law because the platoon leader denied Yoon’s request to watch the presidential election interview and debates on April 23 and 27, 2017. Complainant Kim(1), who is blind or has low vision, alleges that Article 65, Section 4 of the Public Official Election Act violates his constitutional rights to vote and to equality under the law by requiring that election campaign bulletins written in braille be the same number of pages as booklet-type campaign bulletins (even though braille characters require more space). Complainants Kim(2) and Ham, who are deaf or hard-of-hearing, allege that several provisions in the Public Official Election Act violate their constitutional rights to vote and to equality under the law because the provisions do not require the use of Korean sign language or captions in election-related broadcasts.

Procedural history: All complainants filed complaints with the Constitutional Court on July 21, 2017.

Summary: Complainant Yoon: The Court held that the platoon leader’s prohibition on watching the debates was part of complainant’s military training. Since allowing the debates would have created a high possibility of interference in the training, the Korea Army Training Center did not provide a television in the dormitory, and the complainant was able to acquire information through other means. The Court ruled that it was difficult to see how complainant’s rights to vote and to equality under the law were violated as he had access to this election-related information. Complainant Kim(1): The Court held that providing materials in braille (a cost borne by the State) is expensive and difficult. Furthermore, a 2015 amendment to the Public Official Election Act requires a candidate or political party “to prepare and submit election campaign bulletins in braille” if they are running in Presidential elections, which greatly expanded the law in favor of citizens who are blind or with low vision. Finally, there are “many other means” by which voters who are blind or with low vision can obtain election-related information. Considering these facts, the Court held that complainant Kim’s rights to vote and to equality under the law had not been violated. Complainants Kim(2) and Ham: The Court held that imposing sign language or captioning requirements on broadcasters would impose excessive costs and infringe upon the freedom of broadcasting and programming. The Court cited laws such as the Broadcasting Act, the Act on Welfare of Persons with Disabilities, and the Act of the Prohibition of Discrimination against Persons with Disabilities to find that the law has already made it compulsory to provide information to voters who are deaf or hard-of-hearing, and that caption and sign-language broadcasting has improved throughout the 2010s (with many recent general election debates being broadcast with sign language). Considering these facts and the law, the Court did not find an infringement of the right to vote or to equality under the law for either complainant.

Conclusion: The Court dismissed all three complaints.

Legal Issue(s)

Accessibility
Elections as a Fundamental Right
Electoral Administration Irregularities

Applicable Law(s): Korean Constitution; Public Official Election Act Art. 65 § 4, Art. 71 § 3, Art. 72 § 2, Art. 82-2 § 12

Region: Asia-Pacific

Country: South Korea

Language of Decision

English

Court: Constitutional Court

Election Type: Presidential

Date of decision: Aug 28, 2020

Geolocation

Latitude: 37.53259896192619

Longitude: 126.9684824804054

: Geolocation

Primary Documents

2017Hun-Ma813(Eng).pdf
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2017Hun-Ma813.pdf
Korean
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Election Judgments - IFES

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2017Hun-Ma813

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