The ruling Saenuri Party on Thursday expressed concerns about the inconsistency in judicial judgment on politically sensitive cases after local courts disagreed on whether minority opposition party members were guilty of violating fundamental voting principles.
The Gwangju District Court on Wednesday found a United Progressive Party official, only identified by his surname Joo, guilty of voting in place of four other party members during last year’s in-party proportional representation elections. Unnamed party officials directed Joo to vote in their place by giving him their designated passwords required for voting. The court ordered Joo to pay fines up to 1 million won ($940) while others will be asked to pay 300,000 won ($281.97) respectively.
In contrast the Seoul Central District Court has recently found the same plaintiffs innocent of the said charges. Local courts including those in Seoul, Kwangju, and Changwon have been ruminating over whether Joo and his party colleagues had violated the four voting principles of direct, fair, private, and universal rights.
“Our nation’s judicial officials must understand that they cannot exist without the trust of Korean citizens” said Saenuri Party Rep. Yoo Ki-June.
“The recent rulings show that we must take steps to prevent further disagreements among local courts,” he added.
Saenuri lawmakers further urged the Constitutional Court, which has the authority to dissolve political parties, to consider dismantling the UPP and called for Rep. Lee Seok-ki to voluntarily resign.
Lee was alleged to have been elected to the National Assembly through the problematic elections the local courts have been investigating.
Lee has been receiving less-than-flattering remarks recently as prosecutors indicted him for attempting to overthrow the government last month. He and other members of the so-called Revolutionary Organization were accused of conspiring to gather arms in preparation for assaulting vital government infrastructures and organizations.
By Jeong Hunny ()
koreaherald@heraldcorp.com
