[Editorial] “Not Free From the Shackles of Campaign Fundraising”

Regarding ruling Millennium Democratic Party (MDP) chairman Chyung Dai-chul’s remarks that he took 20 billion won in election campaign funds from a land developer, the presidential office Cheong Wa Dae says it has no plan to define its position on the case. This makes no sense. To justify its refusal to discuss the issue, Cheong Wa Dae points to the separation of party and government. The real point, however, is that the alleged wrongdoings took place while Roh Moo-hyun was running for president as the MDP candidate.

It seems that Cheong Wa Dae does not understand how a big stir this scandal could cause, or is intentionally avoid talking about it. At the same time, political circles appear hesitant to take action, while the prosecution is also being cautious, claiming that it can only launch an investigation when there exist concrete suspicions. There are several reasons for these timid stances from the political world and the prosecution. Scandals regarding presidential election campaign funds have flared up in every previous presidential election. However, no one summoned up the courage to reveal the truth, conscious of the enormous impact of such a scandal.

Nevertheless, now that the latest scandal has erupted, the Roh Moo-hyun government shouldn’t expect smooth sailing. The scandal will likely dog it during the rest of its tenure or beyond. Indeed, the case over whether the Grand National Party (GNP) used the National Tax Service to raise campaign funds in the 1997 presidential election has not yet been concluded.

Cheong Wa Dae and the political world should clear up suspicions surrounding election campaign funds. To do so, parties concerned should first confess and make an apology. But if politicians, who paid no heed to the public’s incessant demand for political reform, now ascribe the scandal to unrealistic campaign fundraising practices, criticism will only grow.

Given that transparency in political fundraising is essential to genuine political reform, politicians should take advantage of this latest case to put their financial houses in order. Of course, the president himself should spearhead the reform movement. Thus, the public now awaits a determined effort in this regard from Cheong Wa Dae.