Lawmakers raised W53.5B in donations last year

Published : Feb 28, 2017 - 10:12 Updated : Feb 28, 2017 - 10:12

South Korea's lawmakers raised 53.5 billion won ($47.1 million) in donations in 2016, data showed Tuesday, with the main opposition party taking in the largest amount.

The combined figure marks a 47.8 percent spike from a year earlier, apparently helped by the general election, which took place in 2016.

South Korea's National Assembly (Yonhap)

According to the data compiled by the National Election Commission, the main opposition Democratic Party received 22.3 billion won, followed by the ruling Saenuri Party, currently the Liberty Korea Party with 17.8 billion won.

The People's Party raised 5 billion won, and the Justice Party gathered 1 billion won, the latest tally also showed. Independent lawmakers received donations totaling 7.2 billion won.

On average, each lawmaker received 179.6 million won in political donations, the findings said.

Among potential presidential candidates, Rep. Yoo Seong-min of the Bareun Party, which spun off from the ruling party earlier this year, gathered around 300 million won, while Rep. Ahn Cheol-soo of the People's Party raised 110 million won. (Yonhap)