Left-wing minor party embroiled in feud over primary fraud

The Unified Progressive Party (UPP) is sharply divided along factional lines over a primary fraud scandal that dealt a moral blow to the left-wing minor opposition party.

The party announced last week after a two-week internal investigation that the fairness of the primary to select its proportional representation candidates for the April 11 elections was seriously compromised.

The investigation revealed that a computer program used for internal online ballots had been changed several times and technical errors occurred, leading to the suspension of votes and undermining the credibility of the online ballots.

The party also admitted votes had been cast en masse through a single Internet Protocol address, an indication of voting irregularities. The IP address, the online equivalent of a street address or a phone number, should be different for each voter.

Lee Jung-hee, one of the UPP's four co-leaders, called on the party's task force Monday to further investigate the issue and proposed convening a public hearing to verify the party's report.

Her comment came after party officials adopted a recommendation over the weekend that its leadership and all six lawmakers elected under the proportional representation system should resign over the scandal.

Seven UPP candidates were elected through direct elections and six others won parliamentary seats under the proportional representation system that allocates seats to parties according to the numbers of votes they receive. The UPP accounts for just a fraction of the new 300-member parliament.

Rhyu Si-min, a co-leader, said it makes sense for the six lawmakers-elect to resign because the fraud took place in a primary for the parliamentary elections.

Yoon Geum-soon, one of the six lawmakers elected through the proportional representation system offered to resign Friday under mounting pressure over the scandal.

However, the faction led by Lee rejected the demand for resignation.

Kim Jae-yeon, who was elected as a lawmaker after being ranked third of the UPP's proportional representation candidates, has said the recommendation should be retracted, claiming her primary campaign was conducted in a fair and legitimate manner.

The factional feuds come as the party prepares to hold a crucial meeting on Saturday to revise its regulations and discuss ways to deal with the ongoing crisis.

The party was created just five months ago through the merger of left-leaning political parties to try to boost their chances in the April's parliamentary elections. (Yonhap)