| Article 250 (Publication of False Information) |
| (1) | Any person who publishes, or makes another person publish false information (in cases of publishing academic background, including cases where it is not entered by means prescribed in Article 64 (1)) about the place of birth, family relations, social status, occupation, career, etc., property, behavior or organization to which he/she belongs of a candidate, his/her spouse, lineal ascendants or descendants, or siblings, or about whether the candidate receives support from a specific person or specific organization by means of a speech, broadcast, newspaper, wire service, magazine, poster, propaganda document or others, so as to be favorable to the candidate (including a person who intends to be a candidate; hereafter the same shall apply in this Article), with the intention of getting elected or getting another person elected, or persons who possess a propaganda document in which a false fact is entered with the intention of distributing it, shall be punished by imprisonment with prison labor for not more than five years or by a fine not exceeding 30 million won. <Amended by Act No. 5127, Dec. 30, 1995; Act No. 5262, Jan. 13, 1997; Act No. 5412, Nov. 14, 1997; Act No. 5537, Apr. 30, 1998; Act No. 6265, Feb. 16, 2000; Act No. 7189, Mar. 12, 2004; Act No. 9974, Jan. 25, 2010; Act No. 13617, Dec. 24, 2015> |
| (2) | Any person who publishes, or makes another person publish, any false facts on a candidate, his/her spouse, lineal ascendants or descendants, or siblings, so as to be unfavorable to the candidate through a speech, broadcast, newspaper, communication, magazine, poster, propaganda document, or other means, with the intention of stopping the candidate from being elected, or persons who possess a propaganda document in which a false fact is entered with the intention of distributing it, shall be punished by imprisonment with prison labor for not more than seven years or by a fine of not less than five million won nor more than 30 million won. <Amended by Act No. 5262, Jan. 13, 1997> |
| (3) | Any person who commits the acts provided for in paragraph (1) (excluding the failure to enter the academic background in a manner provided for in Article 64 (1)) in connection with the intra-party competition shall be punished by imprisonment with prison labor for not more than three years or by a fine not exceeding six million won and any person who commits the acts provided for in paragraph (2) shall be punished by imprisonment with prison labor for not more than five years or by a fine not exceeding ten million won. In such cases, the "candidate" or the "candidate (including anyone who intends to become the candidate)" shall be deemed "the candidate for competition". <Newly Inserted by Act No. 7681, Aug. 4, 2005> |