[Editorial] “Special Party Membership Fees”

Yang Jeong-rye, 31, the Pro-Park Alliance’s first choice for its proportional representation, held a press conference yesterday regarding a scandal over her nomination and said that she paid “special party membership fees.” Yang told reporters, “I applied for proportional representation after the party contacted me first. I cannot reveal the amount of special party membership fees. It will be uncovered in the accounting process.” She also argued, “When the party is in need, it is only natural to help.”

However, judging from the situation, it is possible that the Pro-Park Alliance demanded the special membership fees in return for recommending her as its proportional representative. Also, a reasonable explanation is needed for the fact that a woman who recently finished a graduate school could take 1.08 billion won in loans under her name from financial institutions.

On Feb. 29, 40 days prior to the general elections, the National Assembly created a provision that “bans giving and receiving money and other goods in relation to a political party’s recommendation of proportional representatives.” Although there was already a provision about punishment on giving and taking illegal political funds, the National Assembly established the new provision to prevent political parties from “selling” representative seats under the pretext of special membership fees. It also made it clear to punish “those who express their willingness to provide money or other goods in return for nomination,” in order to prevent political parties from making recommendations in return for a secret promise that the fees will be paid after the elections.

Still, speculation over “special party membership fees in return for recommendation” is being raised in the first elections after such a new provision was made. This makes one feel that the country’s politics has gone back to the old days when representative posts were sold for political funds. Selling and buying parliamentary seats is an outright crime, and those involved are the public enemy of democracy.

First of all, each party should volunteer to reveal all the details of its special membership fees, if it received any. Based on the collected information, the National Election Commission and the prosecution should thoroughly investigate whether the fees were paid in return for recommendation. Political parties and lawmaker-elects are supposed to report their incomings and outgoings within a month after the general elections. Given that speculation over party recommendation is spearing, however, they should not have the public wait.

Pro-Park Alliance Chairman Seo Chung-won should immediately disclose how much Yang paid in her special membership fees. If the party did nothing shady, there is no reason that he cannot disclose it even today.