At least one lawmaker candidate for the ruling Saenuri Party won a National Assembly seat in April's parliamentary elections after having obtained a leaked list of more than 2 million party members, a party official said Wednesday, stoking controversy over alleged irregularities in the nomination process.
The revelation comes days after prosecutors detained a Saenuri official on suspicion of selling the list of 2.2 million party members to an unidentified text message service company between January and March this year in return for 4 million won ($3,470).
Saenuri, which launched its own internal investigation into the allegations, discovered the list had also been obtained by seven or eight lawmaker hopefuls in an apparent bid to boost their chances at winning the party's nomination for the April race, the party official said on condition of anonymity.
The list reportedly contained the personal details and mobile phone numbers of the members, who could have been lobbied for votes in the primary elections leading up to the nominations.
"All except two were eliminated in the (primary election) and failed to win nomination," the official said in a telephone interview with Yonhap News Agency. "Two persons won the primary. One of them won the election in an Ulsan district, while the other lost in the general elections and failed to become a lawmaker."
Another party official, also speaking on condition of anonymity, identified the unsuccessful candidate as Kim Jun-hwan, who lost to Rep. Noh Young-min of the main opposition Democratic United Party in a Cheongju district in the April race.
The detained Saenuri official was also quoted as telling prosecutors he handed over the membership list to six lawmaker hopefuls in February and March, shortly before the general elections.
"It appears that the staff of lawmaker hopefuls tried hard to obtain the list in order to win nomination," the first official said. "In the end, however, primary races were held in some electorates, but not in others."
Competition to win nomination was fierce between lawmaker hopefuls loyal to President Lee Myung-bak and those close to the party's leading presidential hopeful Park Geun-hye. Kim Jun-hwan was a member of the so-called "pro-Park" faction.
If proven true, the recent allegations could deepen the rift between the sides ahead of December's presidential election.
President Lee is barred by law from seeking re-election. (Yonhap)