Local Council Members' 'Sponsorship Ban'... Constitutional Court Rules "Unreasonable Discrimination Violates Constitution"

Constitutional Court: "Excluding Local Council Support Group Designators Discriminates Against National Assembly Members"
Dissenting Opinion: "High Risk of Corruption Such as Quid Pro Quo Support... Difficult to Effectively Control"

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[Asia Economy Reporter Heo Kyung-jun] The Constitutional Court has ruled that the current Political Funds Act, which excludes local council members such as provincial assembly members from being designated sponsors of support committees, is unconstitutional.

On the 24th, the Constitutional Court issued a decision of constitutional inconsistency on Article 6 of the Political Funds Act with a 7 to 2 vote. This is another ruling of constitutional inconsistency related to this provision following those in 2015 and 2019.

A, a current member of the Jeollabuk-do Provincial Assembly and the petitioner, filed a constitutional complaint arguing that Articles 6 and 45 of the Political Funds Act, which exclude local council members from being designated sponsors of support committees and comprehensively restrict their opportunities to receive and use political funds, infringe upon their fundamental rights.

The Political Funds Act stipulates that those who can designate support committees include ▲central parties (including party establishment preparation committees) ▲members of the National Assembly (including elected members) ▲presidential election candidates and preliminary candidates ▲intra-party presidential primary candidates ▲constituency general election candidates and preliminary candidates ▲party representatives and other primary candidates ▲local council candidates and preliminary candidates ▲and candidates for local government heads.

The Constitutional Court stated, "Local council members play a role in integrating the diverse opinions and interests of residents to form the will of local governments, so allowing them to have support committees aligns with the legislative purpose and philosophical basis of the support committee system," and judged that "excluding local council members from designated sponsors of support committees, unlike members of the National Assembly, is an unreasonable discrimination."

On the other hand, Justices Lee Seon-ae and Lee Jong-seok dissented, stating, "If local council members are allowed to establish and operate support committees, the possibility of corruption due to quid pro quo support increases, regional confusion caused by the proliferation of support committees may arise, and residents' burdens may be exacerbated," and added, "Since the number of local council members is much larger than that of National Assembly members, even if there are regulations on support committees under the Political Funds Act, the social costs involved may greatly increase and effective control may be difficult."

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