Lawmaker bolts from ruling party amid bribery allegations

A member of the ruling Saenuri Party bolted Tuesday a day after the National Election Commission filed a criminal complaint with prosecutors on the charge that he accepted 60 million won (53,600 U.S. dollars) in illegal political funds.

Hong Sa-deok said in a news release, “I voluntarily defect from the party to help ease the burden on the party and its presidential candidate (Park Geun-hye) ahead of a big event (election),” adding, “I will suspend all activities until I will be cleared of the charge after the probe finishes.”

He had flatly denied all the allegations against him Monday, saying, “An assistant to Chairman Jin (an acquaintance) leaked information on a non-existent matter.”

Jin also denied the allegation that he took bribes, saying, “My former chauffeur tried to blackmail me for a month but to no avail, and he gave groundless tips to the National Election Commission.”

Presidential candidate Park Geun-hye delivered a lecture hosted by Gachon University’s female student council in Seongnam, Gyeonggi Province, the same day. She told reporters, “I don’t know the details (of the charges). But I hear he left the party, and is believed to have made the decision at his own discretion. I hope the truth will be verified as soon as possible.”

dnsp@donga.com