Progressive party`s general elections violation

The general elections candidate inspection committee of the minor opposition United Progressive Party admitted Monday to a fraudulent process of proportional representative elections. Probing the alleged violation, the committee acknowledged manipulation in voting. Following rigged opinion polls committed by the party`s co-chief Lee Jung-hee, the illegal proportional representative elections have put the party in a real crisis since it was launched in December last year.

The inspection results showed collective voting by the same Internet protocol in online voting. System corrections are strictly banned in online voting, but corrections were still made a number of times. This is the same as opening the voting box while people are still voting. In offline voting, certain party members voted after the deadline while non-members also voted. These illegal actions can only occur in a country with underdeveloped politics. The party had expressed pride in the proportional representative elections, calling them "democratic."

The progressive party won a surprising 13 seats in last month`s general elections, becoming the third party in parliament. If the candidate of the main opposition Democratic United Party wins in this year`s presidential election, the progressive party could form part of a joint government. In light of this, the latter`s fraudulent actions cannot be taken lightly.

The progressive party was created by forces of the now-defunct Democratic Labor Party, which supported the late North Korean leaders Kim Il Sung and Kim Jong Il, progressive forces who left the labor party due to opposition to its pro-North Korea stance, and the Participation Party. The latest violation is known to have been led by pro-North forces. They fired tear gas in the National Assembly and claimed it was a movement against dictatorial rule. They committed illegal actions to make certain members proportional candidates. Yet they remain silent on China`s forced repatriation of North Korean defectors. It is simply nonsense that the progressive party stresses human rights and morality. They are simply anti-progressive forces.

The United Progressive Party released their investigation results but has yet to come up with how they will deal with the matter. Voices within the party say the activities have shown no facts, resisting internal demands that the first three proportional candidates should resign from parliament. The party should take this matter to prosecutors for an accurate investigation. This is not a matter than can be skipped over evasively since it can spread into an overall crisis of the party.