By Kang Hyun-kyung
Staff Reporter
First-term lawmakers are richer than their predecessors in the previous legislature, the National Assembly Ethics Committee reported Monday.
President Lee Myung-bak's parliamentary supporters are poorer than members of the Cabinet, said the report on the asset status of 134 first-term lawmakers and 27 legislators who were not members of the previous legislature but were successfully elected to the 18th Assembly.
The report said the average wealth of the 161 was 3.1 billion won ($3 million), approximately three times higher than that of their counterparts in the 17th Assembly, and twice that of those in the 16th.
Analysts said the rise in property prices over the past four years was the major factor that increased their personal wealth.
They also point out that many activist-turned-lawmakers lost in the April 9 elections and wealthy people replaced them, contributing to the overall asset increase.
The report noted that President Lee's supporters in the National Assembly are not as rich as his aides at Cheong Wa Dae or Cabinet ministers.
The average assets of these 17 lawmakers stands at 1.8 billion, falling far behind that of the 161 lawmakers (3.1 billion won) and that of the senior presidential secretaries (3.5 billion won). Their average wealth level is also lower than that of Lee's Cabinet members, 3.1 billion won.
The wealth gap between the conservative Grand National Party (GNP) and the liberal Democratic Party (DP) has decreased, compared to that of the 17th legislature.
The assets of ruling GNP lawmakers averaged 3.5 billion won, while that of the opposition DP counterparts is 2.9 billion won. The gap between the GNP and DP members was bigger than it was in the 17th legislature.
Rep. Cho Jin-hyeong of the GNP was the most wealthiest lawmaker, followed by another GNP lawmaker Kim Se-yeon. Four other governing party members are also in the top 10 list.
Rep. Jeong Kuk-kyo of the DP, who was indicted for stock price manipulation, ranked third. Rep. Moon Kook-hyun of the Renewal of Korea Party placed eighth, and one Liberty Forward Party legislator and one independent are also on the list.
DP lawmaker Kim Se-ung was the poorest legislator having owed 2.1 million of personal debt, followed by Rep. Cho Hae-jin of the GNP.
The committee said it would set up a subcommittee to audit the reported assets of the lawmakers. Those who had not reported faithfully or covered up their wealth will be punished when results come out in October.