Bets on U.S. election shows partisan bent

Some lawmakers affiliated with the National Assembly Unification and Foreign Affairs-Trade Committee bet on Wednesday on who was going to win in the U.S. presidential election.

Fourteen of 23 committee members joined the betting with wagers of 100,000 won each. The stakes and award were entrusted to Rep. Kim Young-Koo of the Grand National Party.

The names of the wager participants were kept secret, but the numbers of the partisan members disclosed. The revelation showed that five of six ruling Millennium Democratic Party members who joined in the betting forecast a victory by Al Gore, while seven of nine GNP members bet on George W. Bush.

Although the lawmakers bet on the U.S. election returns for fun, the event displayed the political inclinations of the rival parties.