11 Elected Officials Violate Ban on Loans for Political Use

Leading public officials are found to have violated a law banning the use of bank loans for political purposes.

The officials include the educational superintendents of Seoul (Kwak No-hyun) and South Gyeongsang Province (Ko Young-jin) and the province`s governor (Lee Si-jong). They violated a law that was implemented for the first time in the June 2 local elections.

The violation of this law was a major reason for former Prime Minister-designate Kim Tae-ho dropping his candidacy in the face of severe criticism from the opposition at his parliamentary confirmation hearing.

Based on the reported assets of 755 elected public officials in the local elections (excluding two- and three-time elected officials) released by the government ethics committee for public officials, the Dong-A Ilbo found that 11 officials broke the law.

Article 38 of the law prohibits the lending of money for political purposes. The provision was repealed by the National Assembly in May this year but remains valid since the removal will take effect on Nov. 18.

argus@donga.com