Forty-two Congressmen’s Property Increased over 200 Million Won

Of the 269 Congressmen in the ruling and opposition parties, 145 members (53.9 percent) saw their assets increase over the past year, and 113 members (42.1 percent) saw their assets decrease, while 11 members reported no change in their assets.

This data came from the Ethics Committee for Congress Government Officials, who disclosed on February 27 that the asset fluctuation accounts of 304 people, including the legislators of the ruling and opposition parties and 35 government officials in the National Assembly.

Compared to the situation in which 178 members reported an increase in their assets in 2002, the financial situation of the legislators last year must have deteriorated somewhat.

The members, who reported an increase in wealth of more than 100 million won, amounted to 42 last year, compared to 53 in 2002, while legislators who reported a decrease of more than 100 million won were 43, compared to 31 in 2002. Also, it was 20 members who reported an increase of wealth of more than 200 million won.

The congressman who recorded the sharpest rise in assets last year was the People’s Unification Party 21 member Chung Mong-jun (90.29847 billion won), and the Grand National party members like Lim Jin-chul (2.23179 billion won), Kim Jin-jae (1.8566 billion won), Joo Jin-woo (1.51014 billion won), and the Open Uri Party member Lee Won-sung reported an increase in assets of more than one billion won.

Meanwhile, the Millennium Democratic Party member Lee Jung-il who had ranked first in the increase of assets in 2002 reported a decrease in assets by 6.25744 billion won last year through the sale of his real estate and the donation of the local daily newspaper belonging to him.

Yong-Gwan Jung Myoung-Gun Lee yongari@donga.com gun43@donga.com