After weeks of sidestepping questions and denying direct links, the People’s Party’s leadership on Tuesday announced the party will immediately suspend membership of those involved in the corruption scandal if, or as soon as, the probe result implicates them with the allegation.

Vowing “stern measures with no mercy,” the party throughout the day held back-to-back meetings including the general assembly, and decided to deal with three of its members that are accused of receiving kickbacks worth 238 million won ($207,000) from companies commissioned to produce campaign materials and television commercials for the April 13 parliamentary election.

Two of them, Reps. Park Sun-sook and Kim Su-min, have been questioned over the past several days by the prosecution upon the report by the National Election Commission on June 8. Kim is a first-termer elected as proportional representative, while Park is a politician-by-profession who had played major roles in the camp for former President Kim Dae-jung. 


Park has also been a key associate of the party’s co-chief Rep. Ahn Cheol-soo since his presidential campaign in 2012. Park’s implication and the party’s first-ever corruption allegation dampened the momentum of the party that has become a powerful third force with 38 seats in the National Assembly where the ruling Saenuri Party holds 129 seats and the main opposition The Minjoo Party of Korea holds 123 seats.

It further hurt the image of Ahn, who has been building his political career on the philosophy of clean and new politics.

Kim has reportedly testified that she was acting on orders from the party’s Deputy Secretary-General Wang Joo-hyun. The prosecution arrested Wang on Monday on charges of violating the election law.

The election watchdog claimed the money was handed over in the form of rebates out of the 3.2 billion won the party paid to the firms by having them pay back some of the money to another advertisement agency named Brand Hotel, which Kim had once headed, under false subcontracts.

“I apologize for the case that has become (a subject of) social controversy and even led to the arrest of a major party official, thereby causing concern among the people. I share the painful responsibility as the person of responsibility and representative of the party,” Ahn said during a press briefing.

“I once again pledge that the party will be acting without an ounce of tolerance or hesitation to deal firmly and sternly with regard to the case based on the outcome of the judicial decision.”

(khnews@heraldcorp.com)