11 Lawmakers Who Complied with the Political Funds Act and Allocated Remaining Money to Parties [Leaking Donations]⑭

Special Party Fees at End of Term Paid to Parties
Only 11 Out of 144 in Total
"Sponsorship Money Is Not My Own... Principles Must Be Followed," United Voices

Editor's NoteIn the past, the reason for abolishing the district party offices was due to illegal political funds. Recently, the two major parties have been pushing for the revival of district party offices. The prerequisite for the revival of district party offices is the transparent use of political funds. What is the actual situation? Asia Economy requested information disclosure from the National Election Commission and regional election commissions and secured six months' worth of accounting reports before the expiration of the terms of 144 members of the 21st National Assembly. These individuals are now former lawmakers. Based on the secured data, we prioritized verification items by examining the appropriateness of expenditure purposes and usage locations. We confirmed with the parties involved and the election commission, and also conducted on-site reporting. We also uncovered the reality that the election commission does not properly verify accounting reports. We focus on verifying and reporting the use of political funds by lawmakers near the end of their terms. ① Spending millions of won on office supplies at a kimchi factory logistics warehouse ② Using political funds for meals at Gangnam wine bars, hotels, and famous restaurants... 'Meetings = Gourmet tours?' ③ Retirement pay is illegal... 'Retirement consolation money' is legal ④ Large-scale holiday gifts to fellow lawmakers with political funds ⑤ Spending 10 million won 10 days before term expiration and traveling alone to the U.S. ⑥ Large expenditures on attorney fees despite the election commission's 'no problem' response ⑦ Spending millions on supporting fellow politicians ⑧ Political funds treated like petty cash? Paying traffic violation fines ⑨ Why is the political fund account negative near term end? ⑩ What to do with YouTube channels grown with political funds ⑪ The practice of last-minute clearance still exists... Remaining political funds average 128,000 won per person ⑫ Lawmakers' accounting reports are difficult for voters to monitor ⑬ Confessions of accounting officers' conscience: "Accounting reports are just number games" ⑭ Eleven lawmakers who complied with the Political Funds Act and transferred remaining political funds to their parties

"There were quite a few donations collected bit by bit in units of 100 won or 1,000 won. These were money saved by teenagers or college students who refrained from eating to send donations, so how could I possibly waste them until the very end?"

Former lawmaker Jang Hye-young donated the remaining 6.85 million won of political funds at the end of her term as special party dues. She followed the intent of the Political Funds Act, which requires that remaining assets be transferred to the party when a lawmaker's support committee is dissolved.

Asia Economy analyzed the accounting reports of 144 lawmakers whose terms expired in the 21st National Assembly and found that lawmakers nearing the end of their terms generally spent political funds on staff retirement pay and loan repayments, but some also used funds for purposes that could be considered personal deviations.

Eleven lawmakers, including former lawmaker Jang, transferred their remaining political funds to their parties. Former lawmaker Kim Min-ki transferred the largest amount, 126.2 million won, to his party. Following him were former lawmakers Park Jin with 87.84 million won, Jo Eung-cheon with 62.19 million won, Lee Yong with 46 million won, Lee Won-wook with 39.44 million won, and Yoo Kyung-jun with 36 million won.

Former lawmaker Jang emphasized, "In democratic politics, donations can be an effective means of communication with citizens," and added, "We need to think more about how political funds are used at the end of terms." She continued, "Since I was a proportional representation lawmaker and proportional representation lawmakers cannot exist without party politics, I naturally thought that the remaining political funds should be transferred to the party. I believed that those who supported my politics would inevitably support the politics of the party I belong to." Former lawmaker Yang Kyung-gyu of the same party also transferred 9.37 million won of remaining political funds to the party.

Lawmakers who used remaining political funds for their parties emphasized principles. Former lawmaker Yoo Kyung-jun said, "Political funds were donated for our party and me, so to continue that intention, I thought it was most desirable to transfer the funds to the party," adding, "Everyone may have different ideas about what is best, but private spending that does not align with the original intent must be corrected." Former lawmaker Lee Dal-gon also said, "I could not think of the remaining donations as my own money, so I did not use them at my discretion," and added, "It is right to uphold principles, and as a public figure, I thought it was important to finish well." Former lawmaker Lee Yong said, "I think it is right to return the donations that party members and citizens gave me little by little."

Former lawmaker Kim Byung-wook (Seongnam Bundang-eul, Gyeonggi) said, "The regulations related to political funds in our country are too complicated overall," and suggested, "I hope there are clear regulations regarding expenditure details such as staff retirement pay."

Former lawmakers Yang Jeong-sook, Lee Won-wook, and Jo Eung-cheon, who participated in founding the Reform New Party during the last general election, transferred all remaining political funds to their parties. Former lawmaker Lee said, "The principle regarding political funds is that they should not be treated as personal assets, so especially with the hope that financially struggling parties would do better, I transferred all remaining donations."

Former lawmaker Jo predicted that the revival of district party offices would be possible if voluntary and transparent accounting management and proper supervision by the election commission were ensured. Jo said, "On the premise that the election commission properly supervises, the authority of district party offices should be restored to open the door for small parties to participate in politics."