By Do Je-hae
The government gives hundreds of millions of dollars every year to political parties, government agencies and ministries to support “special activities” related to national security.
How this money is spent remains largely a secret because those in charge of the finances are not required to submit receipts or report how or where the money was spent to the government.
The main opposition New Politics Alliance for Democracy (NPAD) is now calling for measures to require the beneficiaries to disclose details of such spending.
However, the ruling Saenuri Party is opposed to this proposal, claiming that disclosing such information would damage national security.
According to the parties, more than half of the money goes to security-related organizations, such as the National Intelligence Service (NIS).
“The budget for this year is 880 billion won ($744 million), with the NIS using up almost 500 billion won,” NPAD floor leader Rep. Lee Jong-kul said during a Supreme Council meeting Monday. “The use of these funds must be made known.”
But the ruling party, stressing that there is no precedent in other countries, said that specific details of such spending must remain undisclosed.
“Most of the special funds are used by agencies dealing with security and defense, such as the NIS, the Ministry of Defense and the National Police Agency,” Saenuri Party floor leader Rep. Won Yoo-chul told reporters Monday. “No other country in the world is open about how they spend similar funds.”
“The special funds are used for confidential state affairs,” Won said. “Pursuant to relevant laws, the expenditures are exempt from disclosures.”
The main opposition is calling for measures to have the agencies report the details of the spending to the National Assembly. The NPAD is calling for the establishment of a special committee for this purpose, but the parties have yet to reach a deal on this.
The Ministry of Strategy and Finance guidelines for the special funds state that they are to be used for confidential investigations and intelligence activities, among others. The 880 billion won allotted for this year is the highest amount ever.
The NIS, Ministry of Defense, National Police Agency and Cheong Wa Dae have taken 92 percent of the funds. As there is no obligation to provide evidence of what the finances are spent on, critics of the system say that the funds are open to exploitation for political or personal use.
Each year, the National Assembly pays out about 8 billion won to those holding key posts. These include the speaker, vice speaker and heads of the Assembly’s 18 regular and special committees.
The issue came to light in May when South Gyeongsang Province Governor Hong Jun-pyo admitted to taking home a portion of the 40 million won monthly in 2008 when he led the House Steering Committee. His confession came during prosecutorial questioning.
In a hearing about alleged bribe-taking, Rep. Shin Geh-ryoon of theNPAD admitted misusing around 20 million won he received on a monthly basis while serving as the head of the National Assembly Environment and Labor Committee from 2012-2014 for his son’s overseas tuition.
In light of public discontent brought on by the two cases, the parties said that they will prepare measures to curb any wasting of such funds. Saenuri Party Chairman Rep. Kim Moo-sung had at the time proposed that all special allowance spending be made through credit cards.
“We are also proposing to disclose the special allowance for lawmakers,” Lee said. “Saenuri Party Chairman Rep. Kim Moo-sung must honor previous pledge to advance the special allowance system and agree with our proposal to form a special committee to review the system.”