By Choi Ha-young
Rep. Park Ju-min of the ruling Democratic Party of Korea (DPK) received the largest amount of donations last year among 299 lawmakers, according to data released by the National Election Commission (NEC) Tuesday.
The political rookie got 348.58 million won ($325,320) in donations for the year. Rep. Park, who gained a reputation as the "Sewol lawyer" for his devotion in helping the bereaved families of the Sewol ferry disaster, entered politics in 2016. Park won the Baekbong Gentlemen's Award in December last year, being chosen as the most hardworking lawmaker of the year.
Since each lawmaker can receive up to 300 million won per year, the excesses are supposed to be returned to those who donated the money, otherwise it is to be reverted to the National Treasury, the NEC said in a press release.
The total amount of the money donated to all 299 lawmakers stood at 54 billion won, an increase of 1 percent compared to 2016. The average amount each lawmaker collected grew by 0.7 percent, standing at 180.92 million won.
On average, DPK lawmakers received the largest amount of donations ― 222 million won ― which shows the ruling party's popularity. It is notable that the lawmakers from the progressive Justice Party and the far-right Korean Patriots' Party (KPP) received about 204 million won on average.
The Justice Party has six parliamentary seats. The KPP has only one lawmaker, Rep. Cho Won-jin, a staunch loyalist to ousted President Park Geun-hye. The KPP is leading street rallies to rescue ousted President Park Geun-hye, mainly backed by senior citizens.
Among the party headquarters, the Justice Party collected the most in donations ― 654 million won ― followed by the KPP with 546 million won. The ruling DPK headquarters received 510 million won. The conservative Liberty Korea Party headquarters did not open an account to collect donations.
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| Rep. Park Ju-min |
The political rookie got 348.58 million won ($325,320) in donations for the year. Rep. Park, who gained a reputation as the "Sewol lawyer" for his devotion in helping the bereaved families of the Sewol ferry disaster, entered politics in 2016. Park won the Baekbong Gentlemen's Award in December last year, being chosen as the most hardworking lawmaker of the year.
Since each lawmaker can receive up to 300 million won per year, the excesses are supposed to be returned to those who donated the money, otherwise it is to be reverted to the National Treasury, the NEC said in a press release.
The total amount of the money donated to all 299 lawmakers stood at 54 billion won, an increase of 1 percent compared to 2016. The average amount each lawmaker collected grew by 0.7 percent, standing at 180.92 million won.
On average, DPK lawmakers received the largest amount of donations ― 222 million won ― which shows the ruling party's popularity. It is notable that the lawmakers from the progressive Justice Party and the far-right Korean Patriots' Party (KPP) received about 204 million won on average.
The Justice Party has six parliamentary seats. The KPP has only one lawmaker, Rep. Cho Won-jin, a staunch loyalist to ousted President Park Geun-hye. The KPP is leading street rallies to rescue ousted President Park Geun-hye, mainly backed by senior citizens.
Among the party headquarters, the Justice Party collected the most in donations ― 654 million won ― followed by the KPP with 546 million won. The ruling DPK headquarters received 510 million won. The conservative Liberty Korea Party headquarters did not open an account to collect donations.
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