``15 Million Won of Deposition by Lawmaker Candidates Is Excessive``

Regarding article on the lawmaker candidates` payment and repayment of deposition in the revised election law, which was revised following the constitutional court`s decision that it was unconstitutional, an appeal to constitution was made once again.

Lawmaker candidates Kim Sook-Yi and Kim Hyang-Mi of the Socialist Party (SP), who are to run the reelection of the lawmaker in Dongdaemoon-ku B and Kuro B on 25th, and the party`s chairperson Won Yong-Soo announced yesterday that they appealed to the constitution, claiming that ``since 15 million won of deposition according to the revised law is excessive to the commoners and the younger generation, it violates their eligibility for election.``

They also insisted that ``the revised article, which defines that a candidate can receive the deposition only when she or he polls more than 15 percent of the total valid votes, is also violation based on same reason.``

According to the election law before revision, a candidate`s deposition amounted 20 million won, and the candidate could receive the deposition only when she or he polled the minimum 20 percent of the total valid votes.

The constitutional court decided that it was unconstitutional in July, stating that ``article on deposition should be a symbolic amount that does not flinch the exercise of eligibility for election.`` Following this decision, the National Assembly revised the election law on October 4th.

Shin Suk-Ho kyle@donga.com