PSPD in English Archive 2002-08-24   1456

Citizen’s Action to Change Election

Presidential Election in 2002

The 16th President of Korea will be elected in 2002. We deeply hope that a great leader will be chosen, and he or she should work for people and lead them to new millennium.

We have been through a horrible dictatorship and troubled in money elections. However, thanks to people’s continuous struggles and fighting over dirty elections, there is no space for devil campaigns. We know, of course, many obstacles are alive; regional exclusivism and money-elections. These are the main targets of political innovation.

No More Regional Exclusivism and Money-Generated Election

Regional exclusivism has been a broken car that blocks the way of policy-based parties. Voters do not vote for a candidate because of their policies or ideas but because of the candidate’s home place; where are they from? This chronic disease showed up during the last dictatorship era and it was used to protect regimes by robbing the people’s support manipulatively. Some out-of-fashion parties and politicians still want to manage the mortal behavior.

Money-elections, where money works for everything, is the other issue. Corruption and power-related illegal matters are built on the black money used during the campaign period. Buying voters meals, carrying voters around by bus, and taking votes by money: innocent candidate will not survive. Money-involved candidates have to stick to their money supporters, and they will work only for the few people, not for the rest. In order to stop these bad cases, we want a clear and fair election.

Fruit of the Civil Action for General Election 2000 in Korea

In 2000, the new year’s sun rose with the Blacklisting Campaign, which broke the system of ancient politics and composed a new trend of politics. The Civil Action for General Election 2000 in Korea (CAGE) consisted of hundreds NGOs nationwide who moved to keep corrupt and incapable candidates away from nomination and election. Of 86 who were listed by CAGE, 59 lost (68.6%), and almost 100% of CAGE’s nominees fell to the ground in full-alert regions of Seoul and Kyunggi Province. It showed the great power of awakened voters, and they created a new world of politics and community. Old politics faced a change of fate; the host is the people, not the old politicians.

Election Ombudsmen for a Clean and Transparent Election

We will see the power of the people this year again. We saw the power of people in CAGE and the power will make right the first choice of president in 21st century. People are gathering now especially to solve problems with political funds for campaign.

President Kim Dae Jung and President Lee Hoi Chang of the Grand National Party declared 26.1 billion and 20.8 billion, respectively, to the NEC (National Election Committee) for the cost of the last presidential election. Unfortunately we do not believe that the two ex-presidential candidates spent only that much. In contrast, we often hear rumors from the politicians and the SPPO (the Supreme Public Prosecutors’ Office) that ‘you’d better not touch the subject of money in the presidential election.’

Many NGOs, such as the PSPD, YMCA, Korean Women’s Associations United, etc., got together and made Ombudsmen Monitoring the Presidential Election to challenge the political funds, which have been untouchable, like a taboo of our community. Ombudsmen Monitoring the Presidential Election is planning several projects. It will double-check the presidential candidates’ accounts by comparing figures in books with real figures to build public opinion on political funds and ultimately to demand to reform of the routine fund management.

Civic Monitoring Starts from the Candidate Election of Both Parties

The Millennium Democratic Party (MDP) and the Grand National Party (GNP) adopted a People’s Preliminary Election for the first time in the history of our constitution. When a candidate is nominated for the presidential election, it used to be that members of the party would recommend or choose them. Now certain persons who are not members of a party can also choose the presidential candidate. Thirty-five thousand out of 70,000 for the MDP and 25,000 out of 50,000 for the GNP are non-members of the parties. Koreans are more and more interested in both parties’ historical experiment in democracy.

The Ombudsmen has urged clean choices in the process of presidential candidate nomination because a candidate nominated by money would not play a fair game. The Ombudsmen received a ‘Clean Pledge’ from 7 candidates who ran in the presidential candidate nomination for the MDP. According to the pledge, every candidate has to disclose their accounts showing income and outflow during the presidential nomination, and attach receipts on every expense over 100,000 Won to prove the fund was used transparently.

Energetic Monitoring during the Preliminary Election

The Ombudsmen also made a nation-touring campaign for clean choice and monitoring at the places of the presidential candidate nomination. Activists, members of NGOs and college students with the regional members campaigned on a large-scale in Cheju, Ulsan, Guangju, Deajeon, Cheonan, Chuncheon. The Ombudsmen caught an instance of illegal money trading and reported to the Election Committee of the party and the SPPO. They also found out that college students were joining campaigns for money. Those activities obviously reduced unfair campaigns.

Along with these activities, the Ombudsmen held urgent forums especially to raise public awareness of the need to reform political fund management.

2002, Origin of a Clean Election

The Ombudsmen has a heart to continue the campaign like they started from the beginning. It will go on until the end of money elections and until transparent and fair elections have roots in our community and we endeavor to choose an appropriate person for president. It will make 2002 the origin of fair elections and transparent politics by the power of the people. People’s power changes the world.

March 2002

Kim-Park Taesik (National Assembly Watch, PSPD)

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