Candidate Nominee and Current Union Chief Accused of Violating Consignment Election Law
[Asia Economy Yeongnam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Lee Seryeong] The Gyeongnam Election Commission has reported two individuals to the police for violating the Act on Public Organizations, etc. Election by Entrustment in relation to the 3rd Nationwide Simultaneous Cooperative Association Head Election.
According to the Gyeongnam Election Commission on the 22nd, prospective candidate A is suspected of conducting an event on the SNS he operates in the second half of 2022 and providing gifts worth a total of 130,000 KRW to winning cooperative members.
Incumbent cooperative head B is suspected of providing 300,000 KRW in cash to cooperative members and donating 200,000 KRW in cash to a cooperative members' meeting in late the same year.
The Election Commission reported A to the police on the 21st and B on the 20th.
According to Article 32 on the definition of donation acts and Article 35, Paragraph 1 on restrictions on donation acts of the Entrusted Election Act, candidates, including those intending to become candidates, cannot make or cause donation acts to voters (including those qualified to be on the voter list before the voter list is prepared) or their families during the donation restriction period. Article 35, Paragraph 5 stipulates that cooperative heads cannot make donation acts while in office.
The donation restriction period related to this cooperative head election is from September 21, last year, to March 8 of this year.
Status of violation types related to the 3rd Nationwide Simultaneous Cooperative Association Head Election in the Gyeongnam region. [Data provided by Gyeongnam Election Commission]
The Election Commission explained that the current number of violation cases related to the cooperative head election is a total of 23, including 12 reports and 11 warnings or other measures.
Among the reported cases, donation acts account for 11 cases, more than 90%, and the period from March 1 to March 8 has been designated as the ‘Special Crackdown Period on Money Elections,’ during which monitoring and crackdown activities will be strengthened until the end.
A representative of the Election Commission said, “To eradicate money elections, awareness improvement and self-purification efforts by cooperative members and others are most important,” and added, “If you discover violations, please actively report and tip off anywhere nationwide.”
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