Kyungryeolyeon "Suspected False Property Reports by National Assembly Members Should Be Investigated by the Election Commission"

The Citizens' Coalition for Economic Justice held a press conference on the 28th in front of the Gwacheon office of the National Election Commission, requesting an investigation by the Election Commission into the inadequate verification of asset declarations during the registration of National Assembly candidates. On this day, the coalition urged the Election Commission to actively investigate Democratic Party lawmaker Choi Hye-young (judged to have omitted pre-sale rights), People Power Party lawmaker Han Mu-gyeong (handled 34 land parcels in one case), lawmaker Baek Jong-heon (handled 27 officetel units in one case), lawmaker Lee Ju-hwan (reported 10 land parcels in two cases), and lawmaker Lee Yong (judged to have omitted bonds worth 100 million won). Photo by Moon Ho-nam munonam@

[Asia Economy Reporter Song Seung-yoon] A civic group has requested the Central Election Commission (CEC) to conduct a direct investigation into allegations of false asset declarations by the 21st National Assembly members.

The Citizens' Coalition for Economic Justice (CCEJ) held a press conference on the morning of the 28th in front of the Central Election Commission in Gwacheon, Gyeonggi Province, urging the CEC to investigate the allegations of false asset declarations by National Assembly members. The members requested for investigation include eight lawmakers: Kim Woong, Bae Jun-young, Baek Jong-heon, Lee Yong, Lee Joo-hwan, Cho Myung-hee, Han Moo-kyung from the People Power Party, and Choi Hye-young from the Democratic Party of Korea.

CCEJ previously raised suspicions of underreporting assets based on a survey showing that the average assets of 175 members of the 21st National Assembly increased by about 1 billion KRW compared to before their election. They claimed that the difference between the amounts declared at the time of candidate registration and after election totaled 170 billion KRW, averaging a 1 billion KRW difference per person.

CCEJ selected 14 lawmakers suspected of false asset declarations and requested explanations, receiving responses from 12. According to CCEJ, most cases were due to incorrect guidance from the CEC or individuals' negligent reporting.

CCEJ judged that four lawmakers?Kang Ki-yoon, Kim Eun-hye, Seo Byung-soo from the People Power Party, and Song Jae-ho from the Democratic Party of Korea?had resolved the false declaration suspicions with their explanations. However, they determined that sufficient verification is needed regarding the false declaration status of the others. Accordingly, they requested the CEC to conduct additional investigations into eight lawmakers whose declared asset amounts showed significant discrepancies and unclear reasons for changes.

CCEJ plans to file a complaint with the Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office on the 29th against independent lawmaker Kim Hong-gul and People Power Party lawmaker Cho Soo-jin, judging their false declaration suspicions to be serious violations of the Public Official Election Act.

CCEJ stated, "The reason additional investigations by the CEC are necessary despite the lawmakers' explanations is that the lawmakers' statements do not align with the CEC's policies at the time of candidate registration," and urged, "We call on the CEC to take responsibility and thoroughly investigate and disclose the allegations of false asset declarations by the eight lawmakers."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.