It Makes a Difference to the Sheep

FLOURISHING CIVIL SOCIETY IN SOUTH KOREA?

Describing their campaign as a voter revolution, civic groups comprising 273 nationwide organizations yesterday launched their People's Coalition for the 2004 General Elections.
They vowed to oust all scandal-ridden politicians.

"We can expect nothing from the political community's efforts to clean itself," said the coalition in a statement at a news conference held at the Press Center in central Seoul.

"Once again, we declare our bid to stage a no-vote campaign and establish another revolution."

It seems to have worked last time around in 2000:

Hundreds of civic groups mustered their forces to form a citizens' coalition. They drafted a blacklist, campaigned to oust candidates they considered unqualified and eventually helped defeat about 70 percent of those tarred with that brush.

But there's a catch:

But the legality of the campaign is expected to hamper their bids, analysts said, as the current election law bans civic groups from lodging rejection campaigns.

But wait, there's a catch to the catch:

"Announcing names of politicians who displease them at a news conference or posting their views on Internet sites would be tolerable within the legal boundary," said an official with the state-run National Election Commission, who wished not to be identified.

"But outside activities, such as collecting signatures from voters or suspending banners calling for ousting certain candidates, violate the law."

ROK campaign laws seem as arcane as McCain-Feingold (or worse).