[Editorial] More Lawmakers Need to Join Confession of Illegal Election Funds

Former lawmaker Park Bum-jin confessed the details of the illegal campaign funds that he had received in two general elections though Dong-a daily`s special report entitled, “Confessions of Politicians.” This can be considered courageous behavior and deserves public admiration. We hope that his courageous confession will lay the foundation for clean politics in Korea.

Former lawmaker Park said that he had received a total of 900 million won from business circles and his party while running in the elections as a Democratic Party candidate in 2000 and about 500 million won in the 1996 general elections as a candidate of the New Korea Party. Considering that actual election spending might have been more than the amount of the money he confessed to having spent during the two general elections because his confession is based only on his memory, the amount authorized by law for election campaign expenses was in name only.

Including former lawmaker Park, politicians both from the ruling and the opposition parties are not free from the issue of illegal campaign funds. To finance party activities, such as elections and management of local chapters, politicians need a great amount of money, leading to their implication in illegal activities, such as tax evasion. Politicians usually report their campaign spending as being much less than they actually spend to the nation`s election watchdog. The controversial Hyundai slush funds case, which was disclosed during the special counsel`s investigation into the cash-for-summit scandal, seems to be the result of illegal political donations.

After last year`s presidential election, politicians promised to carry out political reforms. The heart of political reforms lies in expulsion of money politics from the Korean political arena to eliminate the ruinous political practices that politicians and businessmen create through their cozy and unsound relationships. The cozy relations between politicians and businessmen undermine the nation`s competitiveness and leads to corruption, placing an enormous burden on taxpayers.

Politicians should take former lawmaker Park`s confession as a chance of improving the political culture in Korea to a higher level by overhauling related laws regarding political funds. To this end, many politicians should follow in former lawmaker Park`s footsteps. In addition, the government needs to work on measures to forgive those who confess to using illegal political funds within the boundaries of public acceptance. To complete political reform, transparency in political funds should be secured first to build public confidence in politics.