「옥외광고물 등의 관리와 옥외광고산업 진흥에 관한 법률」상 화환의 법적 성격과 규제에 관한 연구

As the number of cases in which political views are expressed through the installation of flower wreaths has increased, the need for a clear legal framework governing such practices has emerged. This study examines whether political wreaths qualify as outdoor advertisements and whether they satisfy the requirements for exemption under Article 8 of the Act on the Management of Outdoor Advertisements and Promotion of Outdoor Advertisement Industry (hereinafter the “Outdoor Advertisements Act”). It further analyzes the enforcement limitations under the current legal framework and proposes measures for improvement. Political wreaths are installed in publicly accessible spaces for a certain period of time and convey specific political messages to an unspecified number of people. In this respect, they satisfy the requirements of public exposure, continuity, and display function, and may therefore be interpreted as falling within “other similar items” under Article 2(1) of the Outdoor Advertisements Act. Meanwhile, Article 8(4) grants exemption only when an advertisement is installed “for use in lawful political activities such as events or assemblies.” Accordingly, wreaths installed independently without any assembly, or those that remain in place long after the conclusion of an assembly, do not fall within the scope of this exemption. Because the current Act does not explicitly regulate wreaths and because the interpretation of Article 8 remains unclear, administrative authorities have been reluctant to engage in active enforcement. In response, this study proposes explicitly listing wreaths in Article 2, clarifying the temporal and spatial nexus requirement under Article 8(4), and establishing clearer standards regarding installation locations and duration through the Enforcement Decree and local ordinances. Regulation of political wreaths should not be understood as suppressing political expression, but rather as a matter of spatial management aimed at maintaining order in spaces freely accessible to the public. While respecting freedom of expression, clearer standards should be established based on installation location, duration, and the connection to assemblies in order to reconcile public safety with political expression.