Political donations put under spotlight

The National Election Commission wants the power to investigate all political donations received by individuals and parties by the April 2004 National Assembly elections.
It said it would refer any suspected illegalities to public prosecutors.
The commission’s proposals also include stripping violators of their seats in the National Assembly if they are fined 1 million won ($854) or more, as well as barring them from running for office for five years.
The commission can now only review the total cost of campaigns ― not individual donations ― and refer suspected cases to prosecutors.
Yesterday’s proposals were part of the commission’s plan to revise the Political Funds Act.
It wants to mandate disclosure of political donations by individuals and parties, which they are not obliged to do under existing law.
The revised bill would include disclosure of donations worth 1 million won each, or of individuals who had donated 5 million won or more over an entire year. The revision would also force political donations exceeding 1 million won to be made out in checks, while amounts exceeding 500,000 won would have to be billed by credit card, rather than cash.
The move comes in the wake of public criticism over recent political funding scandals involving senior officials.
Ruling Millennium Democratic Party chairman, Chyung Dai-chul, admitted in May to receiving 400 million won from a failed commercial developer, Goodmorning City Corp. He also admitted to not issuing receipts worth 200 million won.
Receipts for political donations are used by the commission to check on illegal campaigning.
Kwon Roh-kap, a former political kingpin of the Millennium Democratic Party, is also under investigation for allegedly receiving about 20 billion won ($17 million) from Hyundai Asan Corp. His case ― a myriad of money delivered in apple boxes and laundered by an arms dealer ― has illustrated the morass in political fund-raising in Korean politics.

by Park Seung-hee