Unconscionable lawmaker-elect

Ongoing political controversy is result of hasty nomination

The Civil Together party, a satellite offshoot of the ruling Democratic Party of Korea (DPK), decided Tuesday to expel its lawmaker-elect Yang Jeong-suk and file a complaint with the prosecution. Yang, a former lawyer, is suspected of dodging taxes and using her relatives' names without their permission in the course of amassing assets.

When Yang registered her candidacy with Civil Together for the proportional representation vote in the April 15 general election, she reported to the National Election Commission that she had assets of 9.2 billion won ($7.5 million), which is nearly double the 4.9 billion won she registered four years ago. Yang has three apartments in Seoul's upmarket Gangnam District and two buildings in the capital city and its vicinity.

Yang denied all of the charges and refused to step down, forcing the party to ask the prosecution to investigate. It was little more than two weeks ago that the party nominated Yang as a candidate under the proportional representation system.

Looking back, however, questions were raised about the increase in Yang's properties during the screening process of would-be candidates. At the time, one of Yang's siblings testified Yang had arbitrarily used relatives' names without authorization. The sibling withdrew the testimony later but failed to clarify the source of Yang's funds. This gave many the impression that the two had ironed out their story after the fact. The DPK and its satellite party, which pledged to remove property speculators, should have examined their candidates' qualifications more thoroughly. After all, the ongoing controversy is the result of the rough-and-ready nomination process. It is only natural for Civil Together to convene its ethics committee and take punitive measures against Yang.

The party should use the scandal as an opportunity to look back on its nomination system and apologize for its poor selection of candidates. Lawmaker-elect Yang, for her part, had better step down instead of sticking to her position, alleging that she didn't violate laws.

The problem is, even if Yang is forced to leave the party, she can serve as an independent lawmaker. It would

be good for her to drop the idea as soon as possible, however. If investigations show Yang has committed crimes, she will eventually have to resign from the National Assembly.