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What are your nomination standards?

Published: 15 Jan. 2024, 20:05

The majority Democratic Party (DP)’s roster of 89 preliminary candidates eligible to run in the April 10 parliamentary elections is causing a storm. The list includes Rep. Hwang Un-ha, who was recently found guilty on multiple counts, including bribery, and Rep. Noh Woong-rae, who is awaiting trial for a bribery charge.

Rep. Hwang, who has already been sentenced to three years in prison, will lose his legislative seat if that ruling is upheld in higher courts. He was found guilty for abusing his authority as the Ulsan’s police chief in 2018 in order to to stymie Kim Gi-hyeon’s bid for a second term as the Ulsan mayor and help Song Chul-ho, a friend of then-president Moon Jae-in, win the race. Rep. Noh is accused of having taken 60 million won ($45,627) from a businessman in 2020 in return for favoritism in the granting of business permits.

The two lawmakers should be excluded from the nomination, regardless of the Supreme Court’s ruling. Former Justice Minister Han Dong-hoon said in December 2022 that the prosecution had a recording of the rustling of cash in envelops while seeking an arrest warrant for Noh.

Yet former Rep. Jeon Byung-hun, who was reinstated after serving a prison term for bribery, failed to pass the preliminary review for nomination. He is a rival in the same constituency as Kim Byung-kee, a loyalist to DP leader Lee Jae-myung. Jeon was removed so as not pose a threat to the Lee loyalist. Chung Bong-ju, accused of sexual harassment, and Kim Eui-kyeom, who sparked controversy by spreading false information about President Yoon Suk Yeol, also made the roster. Both are loyal to the DP boss.

The committee reviewing candidate eligibility also allowed the DP leader to run in the election, despite his own judicial risks. The clearance of controversial figures may have been designed to justify Lee’s eligibility. Last May, the DP removed the requirement to disqualify a lawmaker in an election bid when they are found guilty in a lower court, or if a trial is pending in higher court. The lowered judiciary threshold has benefited Lee, as well as his loyalists, at the expense of non-Lee faction.

The DP is becoming a Lee-centric party. Lee, bedridden after a knife attack in Busan, texted Rep. Jung Sung-ho that his proposed suspension of Hyun Geun-taek, another Lee loyalist, was too harsh. Jung instantly lowered the disciplinary action to a “strong verbal warning.” Lim Hyuk-baek, chair of the DP’s nomination committee, purported to remove any bias towards pro- or anti-Lee factions. But the preliminary list speaks otherwise. Both the ruling and opposition parties must remember that they cannot persuade voters with shady nominations.