Democratic Party secretary general Jo Jae Hwan has been arrested by police after attempting to drive off with W400 million from former National Assemblyman Choe Rak Do, who was hoping he would be nominated for mayor of Gimje, North Jeolla province. The investigation is not over so the details are still unknown, but the method in which the money changed hands reeks of impropriety.
Moving apple boxes full of bundles of cash from one car trunk to another in a hotel parking lot is a typical procedure among criminals exchanging bribes. It's actually hard to believe it was a high-ranking official in a political party and a three-time Assembly member. It was just a few days ago that the country learned about bribes from people hoping for nominations for local elected positions given to Grand National Party (GNP) legislators Kim Deog Ryong and Park Sung Vum. Are politicians already buying and selling party nominations?
Jo is claiming he was unaware of the fact that the boxes contained money. Saying you don't know what a potential candidate is giving you right when an election is coming up would make even a cow laugh, but the statement he has given police makes at least one thing clear, namely that the W400 million Choe gave Jo was not what the Democratic Party calls "special party member fees." It's not like one can claim money not wired to the official bank account was nevertheless the payment of a "special fee."
Such is the situation, and yet party chairman Han Hwa Kap says he "Wonders if this is an attempt to kill off the Democratic Party." You cannot provide the country with hope with an attitude that claims you are the victim of political suppression whenever the situation becomes disadvantageous. If the secretary general actions are found to have been illegal, the chairman and other members of the party's leadership have to assume responsibility, as that would be best for the party as a whole.
The police and the prosecution needs to engage in a wide-ranging and thorough investigation into the current allegations about bribes in the course of nominations for local candidates, and they need to avoid trying to keep from offending members of the National Assembly. The country is wondering; if someone who wants to be a party's candidate for Gimje gives a bribe of W400 million, what are potential candidates in other regions giving?
The Hankyoreh, 22 April 2006.
[Translations by Seoul Selection]
[Editorial] More Bribes in Local Candidate Selection Process |
