Ruling party expels scandal-ridden lawmaker

The ruling Saenuri Party on Friday expelled Rep. Hyun Young-hee for her alleged involvement in a money-for-nomination scandal ahead of April‘s general election.

In a general meeting of the party’s lawmakers, all 120 present voted in favor of the expulsion, satisfying the requirement for the ouster of an incumbent legislator of at least two-thirds approval of Saenuri‘s 149 parliamentary seat holders.

The move strips Hyun of her party membership, but she can hold onto her proportional representative seat as an independent.

The action follows the decision on Thursday by the party’s nine-member Supreme Council to oust both Rep. Hyun and former lawmaker Hyun Ki-hwan, who was also implicated in the scandal.

Rep. Hyun has been accused of having handed over 300 million won ($264,700) to Hyun, who was a member of an in-house party panel responsible for nominating proportional candidates. Hyun was formally expelled from the party after his appeal was rejected by the central ethics committee.

The move to expel the lawmaker is aimed at reducing the fallout of the bribery scandal that has tarnished the party‘s image and undermined support for its top presidential hopeful Rep. Park Geun-hye, who was Saenuri’s interim head when the purported exchange of money took place.

The ruling party said that while it ejected the lawmaker, the action does not mean it has proof of her guilt, since state prosecutors are still investigating the case.

It pointed out that she was being expelled for seriously hurting the dignity of the party.

The expulsion reduced the number of lawmakers belonging to Saenuri to 148. The ruling party had originally won 152 seats out of 300 seats up for grabs in the April 11 general election, but it subsequently lost two of its lawmakers due to personal scandals, while Rep. Kang Chang-hee gave up his party member status when he became National Assembly speaker.

The scandal broke out when an estranged aide to Rep. Hyun claimed that he delivered the money to Hyun via Cho Ki-moon, a former Saenuri official of the party‘s Busan chapter, who acted as a middleman in the transaction. Cho was taken into custody late Monday.

Both Hyuns, who are not related despite a shared surname, have consistently denied the allegations raised, while Cho claimed he only received 5 million won.

Related to the scandal, state prosecutors summoned Rep. Hyun as a key suspect in the case.

Arriving at the Busan District Prosecutors’ Office in the southeastern city around 10 a.m., Hyun dismissed all allegations against her as “groundless.” She insisted that everyone has been fooled by an informant with a malicious intent.

“There is no substance to the allegations made other than the malicious claims made by the informer,” Rep. Hyun told reporters.

The lawmaker stressed that while allegations raised were not true, she nevertheless respected the decision by Saenuri to expel her.

The second summons comes after Hyun underwent 14 hours of questioning on Aug. 6. Prosecutors said they plan to conduct a cross-examination with Cho or the Rep. Hyun‘s aide if needed.

Investigators have said they are trying to verify if the money actually reached Hyun, with more probes likely to be conducted to verify reports that the lawmaker may have lobbied other Saenuri officials to win her proportional representative seat.

Reflecting the seriousness of the bribery scandal, after the expulsion motion was passed, Rep. Park said she wanted to apologize to the people for causing them concern.

“The truth will be determined by the ongoing investigations, but regardless of the outcome, it is regrettable that the incident has taken place at all,” the five-term lawmaker said.

Saenuri officials, meanwhile, said Park is expected to announce sweeping political and election reforms if she wins the party’s presidential nomination on Monday. There are five candidate competing for the ticket, but Park is considered the undisputed favorite.

They said changes that will likely be pursued could include stiffer punishment for politicians and relatives of people in power who are involved in corruption and engage in unlawful influence peddling.

In addition, Park may push for a revamping of the party‘s candidate selection process that has been a source of controversy among South Korean political parties for decades and undermined public support for politicians. (Yonhap News)