코리아타임즈 Backtracking Reform

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Backtracking Reform        Avoid Reconnecting Business-Politics Ties

Hardly a year after political parties revised fundraising rules to drive out corruption, there already appear signs of trouble. The ruling Uri Party is reportedly moving to allow contributions from corporations and supporter groups, opening district offices and raising the ceiling on individual donations. This is a return to the pre-2004 situation, only under different names and phrases. Turning back the clock of political reform so soon is neither justifiable nor does it correspond with popular sentiment. Some politicians have complained from the outset that the revised Political Fund Law was too harsh. Now the backtrackers say that the proposed loosening aims to enhance voters' participation and help political novices make their debuts smoothly. But they need to remember that the stringent act only reflected the electorates' anger. Few _ if any _ voters seem to think that the politicians have since been cleansed enough to warrant such a drastic relaxation. The salaries of Korean lawmakers can hardly be said to be small compared to their foreign counterparts and other sectors of society. Nor do the legislators need that much money as the revised act bans the operation of regional party chapters. Politicians here always run short of money, not because their salaries are low but they have not changed old habits of money politics. They should not blame the heavy expenditure but take the lead in changing it. More importantly, the assemblymen ought to know that many voters think that their present salaries are ``too high for what they do.'' Because of perennial political strife and resultant parliamentary boycotts, the National Assembly is closed for the better part of the year. Even when it is open, rival parties waste time quarreling on issues not related to the public livelihood. One of the few bipartisan agreements this year was the increase of the National Assembly's budget by 46.3 billion won. It is particularly regrettable that the governing party, which won the election on a reform platform, is pushing to revive the old political practices. A political party's basic position cannot and should not change, whether it is in power or not. Most voters would think _ with reason _ that the ruling party is capitalizing on its present status to stay in power. This is no time for politicians to complain about the lack of money when most working-class people are tightening their belts to survive the prolonged recession. The political circles should never touch the key provisions in the revised law, such as the bans on corporate donations and local party chapters. The voters will decide if and when freer fundraising will not lead to the risk of corruption.