[단독]Hole in Democratic Party criminal record verification… ‘Unqualified’ hit-and-run criminal also prepares for primary

While the Democratic Party of Korea is in the process of verifying prospective candidates who will run in next year’s general election, criminal records punishable by a fine of 1 million won or less are effectively dependent on the candidate’s self-confession, raising concerns about ‘poor verification.’ The Democratic Party has decided to raise the verification standards starting from this general election and make criminal records such as violent criminals or unscrupulous criminals ‘a reason for disqualification without exception’. However, it is pointed out that if a candidate intentionally hides his criminal history, the verification process will inevitably become useless.

According to the Democratic Party on the 12th, those planning to run in the 22nd general election must submit a ‘criminal investigation background check report for public office candidates’ to the party. For public office candidates, only criminal records that resulted in a fine of 1 million won or more are listed. Until the 20th general election, you had to submit an ‘identity verification form’ containing all your criminal and investigative history, expired sentences, etc., but the submission standards have been relaxed since the last general election. A party official explained, “Under the current law, criminal and investigation history data cannot be acquired for purposes other than those specified by law,” and “We relaxed the standards for submission documents to comply with the law.” Instead, in addition to the circular, the party added an additional guideline that states, “All investigative experience, including crimes with a fine of 1 million won or less and non-indictment, must be explained.”

However, it is pointed out that if the candidate himself hides his criminal record, verification is virtually impossible. In fact, Mr. A, who is preparing to run for office in the Honam region, killed a person in a hit-and-run traffic accident in 2010. The prosecution acknowledged the hit-and-run charge, but suspended the indictment considering the circumstances in which Mr. A reached an agreement with his surviving family. Hit-and-run is a reason for disqualification without exception as determined by the party, but this case is not listed on the inquiry form for public office candidates. In fact, it is known that Mr. A is preparing for the primary by applying to register as a preliminary candidate in this general election.

Former Hwaseong Mayor Seo Cheol-mo, who was fined 5 million won for assault in 2005 and 2 million won for drunk driving in 1998, was included among the first round of eligible preliminary candidates recently announced by the Democratic Party’s Public Official Election Candidate Verification Committee. In response to this, the verification committee said, “In the case of former Mayor Seo, he is a person who has passed the verification committee twice in the past, including while serving as mayor,” and added, “The verification committee only verifies the minimum, and the nomination management committee will verify again.”

A party official said, “The Democratic Party has been systematically inaction while only emphasizing that it will strengthen the moral standards of candidates starting from last year’s local elections,” and added, “Does the Democratic Party really have the right to criticize the issue of poor verification of candidates for public office?”

Reporter Eunji Kim [email protected]