Vote buyers to be stripped of posts

By Kim Rahn

Political candidates who bribe their rivals or voters in order to win elections will be stripped of their posts under tougher sentencing guidelines.

The Sentencing Commission of the Supreme Court confirmed the punishment standards for irregularities during elections at a general meeting Monday. The new rules will apply starting Sept. 1.

The stricter punishment standards come amid a prosecution investigation into an alleged cash-for-nomination scandal surrounding Rep. Hyun Young-hee and former Rep. Hyun Ki-hwan of the ruling Saenuri Party in the lead-up to the April National Assembly elections.

According to the sentencing standards, election irregularities will be divided into several categories, including offering money in a primary or a party’s internal election; purchasing a party nomination; and bribing a rival candidate.

Under the new regulations, if the claim against Rep. Hyun Young-hee is confirmed, she will be subject to between six and 16 months in prison. If there are aggravating factors, the term will be between 10 and 30 months, while if there are extenuating circumstances, it will be reduced to less than 10 months or a fine of between 1 and 5 million won.

“According to the Election Law, those sentenced to fines of 1 million won or more or a prison term are stripped of their positions. So, people buying nominations will lose their seats although extenuating circumstances could be applied,” a commission official said.

The new standards are also likely to affect the case of Kwak No-hyun, chief of the Seoul Metropolitan Office of Education, who is awaiting a Supreme Court decision after being found guilty of offering money to a rival candidate in return for his withdrawal from the race.

According to the new standards, Kwak would be subject to a prison term of between 10 and 30 months.

In the case of vote-buying for a party’s internal election, like the case of former National Assembly Speaker Park Hee-tae who bribed fellow lawmakers in order to win the ruling party’s leadership race, those found guilty will receive a jail term of four months to one year.

A local court sentenced Park to eight months in prison with the term suspended for two years in June. He appealed, so the new rule may be applied in the appellate court ruling.

The commission also came up with strengthened punishment standards for candidates circulating false rumors or committing libel. Should they win the election the results will be nullified.

The penalties will be increased for people who spread false rumors about rival candidates via the Internet or social networking services because such tools quickly disseminate rumors.

But this could be mitigated if rival candidates don’t seek punishment if the accused officially apologizes or corrects the false information.