Popular disgust with upcoming regional elections is spreading far and wide in the wake of a continuous series of cases of corruption in the candidate selection process in various political parties. In a recent survey, 53.8 percent of respondents said they feel the irregularities in the candidate selection process are serious. Some 93.1 percent support the adoption of a provision for recall elections on the heads of local governments and for members of provincial parliaments. Essentially all of the country's voters are calling for recall elections, and it gives you an idea of how angry the country is about the problem.
Parties' reactions, however, are very out of touch with the people. The Democratic Party is calling the arrest of its secretary general, Jo Jae Hwan, who was caught in the act of taking a bribe of W400 million in cash, a case of entrapment. The Grand National Party used the "impeachment" word again and went on a political offensive saying that president Roh Moo Hyun was wrong for ordering a thorough investigation. Neither party has apologized for "selling party nominations." You have to wonder whether those two parties are really ready to engage in self-reflection.
Eradicating this kind of corruption in politics will require the thorough prosecution of persons engaged in it and that there be super-strong measures against it. For starters, there needs to be action against the parties and bribe takers in this latest episode. The law has to be revised so that parties where cash is given in exchange for nominations lose their financial support from the national government or have that support sharply reduced. There is no reason why a party that is getting W60 billion on the side (or 28 billion in non-election years) needs to receive support from the people's blood-earned taxes. Furthermore, the ruling and main opposition parties need to pass the related legislation that would create recall votes, about which a majority of the country is in agreement. The ruling and opposition parties need to act, not talk.
The Hankyoreh, 24 April 2006.
[Translations by Seoul Selection]
[Editorial] Action Needed On 'Candidate Nomination' Bribes |
