32% of Local Election Winners in Gyeongsang, Jeolla, and Jeju Have Criminal Records... 24% in Daegu, 38% in North Gyeongsang

CCEJ Analysis of Elected Officials' Criminal Records
"Opaque Nominations Driven by Top-Down Selection"

On August 18, the Citizens’ Coalition for Economic Justice (CCEJ) announced, "During the local elections held in June, out of 1,976 winners from the Gyeongsang, Jeolla, and Jeju regions, 626 individuals, or 32%, had prior criminal records, with a total number of 1,053 convictions." CCEJ added, "By political party, the Democratic Party of Korea had 262 winners with convictions, the People Power Party had 278, and among the 149 candidates elected uncontested, 41 from the Democratic Party of Korea and 24 from the People Power Party, totaling 65, had criminal records."

According to CCEJ’s comprehensive investigation into the presence of criminal records and career histories among local election winners by region, the number of winners was as follows for each area: 359 from South Gyeongsang, 371 from North Gyeongsang, 177 from Daegu, 247 from Busan, 78 from Ulsan, 439 from South Jeolla and Gwangju, 259 from North Jeolla, and 46 from Jeju, bringing the total to 1,976.

Among them, the number of elected officials with prior convictions was 133 from South Gyeongsang (37%), 141 from North Gyeongsang (38%), 43 from Daegu (24%), 44 from Busan (18%), 29 from Ulsan (37%), 138 from South Jeolla and Gwangju (31%), 81 from North Jeolla (31%), and 17 from Jeju (37%). The number of criminal cases and the average number of convictions per person with a record, by region, were as follows: South Gyeongsang 250 cases (1.9 per person), North Gyeongsang 263 cases (1.9 per person), Daegu 75 cases (1.7 per person), Busan 61 cases (1.4 per person), Ulsan 43 cases (1.5 per person), South Jeolla and Gwangju 226 cases (1.6 per person), North Jeolla 112 cases (1.4 per person), and Jeju 23 cases (1.4 per person).

For city and provincial governors, every elected official in North Gyeongsang, North Jeolla, and Jeju had a criminal record. Among district, city, and county heads, 9 out of 18 (50%) in South Gyeongsang had a criminal record. For metropolitan/provincial council members, 31 out of 56 (55%) in North Gyeongsang had a criminal record. Among district, city, and county council members, 37% of winners in both South and North Gyeongsang had criminal records. For metropolitan proportional representation, 7 out of 13 (54%) in Jeju had prior convictions, while for basic proportional representation, 7 out of 36 (19%) in North Gyeongsang did.

The breakdown of winners with prior convictions by political party in Gyeongsang, Jeolla, and Jeju was as follows: Democratic Party of Korea 262 (399 cases), People Power Party 278 (471 cases), Progressive Party 17 (33 cases), Cho Kuk Innovation Party 7 (14 cases), Justice Party 1 (2 cases), and independents 61 (134 cases).

By region and party: In South Gyeongsang, 36 from the Democratic Party of Korea (67 cases), 84 from the People Power Party (144 cases), and 13 independents (39 cases); in North Gyeongsang, 16 from the Democratic Party of Korea (23 cases), 106 from the People Power Party (195 cases), and 19 independents (45 cases); in Daegu, 9 from the Democratic Party of Korea (18 cases), 34 from the People Power Party (57 cases); in Busan, 14 from the Democratic Party of Korea (21 cases), 29 from the People Power Party (39 cases), and 1 from the Progressive Party (1 case); in Ulsan, 8 from the Democratic Party of Korea (12 cases), 20 from the People Power Party (30 cases), and 1 from the Progressive Party (1 case).

In South Jeolla and Gwangju, 105 from the Democratic Party of Korea (158 cases), 1 from the People Power Party (2 cases), 14 from the Progressive Party (30 cases), 2 from the Cho Kuk Innovation Party (5 cases), 1 from the Justice Party (2 cases), and 15 independents (29 cases); in North Jeolla, 63 from the Democratic Party of Korea (83 cases), 1 from the Progressive Party (1 case), 5 from the Cho Kuk Innovation Party (9 cases), and 12 independents (19 cases).

In Jeju, 11 from the Democratic Party of Korea (17 cases), 4 from the People Power Party (4 cases), and 2 independents (2 cases).

In uncontested elections—where the number of candidates is equal to or less than the number of available seats, resulting in automatic election without a vote—the ballot papers are not printed for those districts, and legally, the candidates are not allowed to campaign. In two-member constituencies, the two major parties may each nominate just one candidate, resulting in uncontested elections, which has drawn criticism for being a collusive practice among established parties.

There were a total of 149 uncontested winners in Gyeongsang, Jeolla, and Jeju, of whom 65 had prior convictions, accounting for 108 cases. The proportion of uncontested winners with a criminal record was 44%, with an average of 1.5 convictions per such winner.

By party, among the Democratic Party of Korea’s 67 uncontested winners, 41 (61%) had criminal records, with a total of 68 cases and an average of 1.7 convictions per winner. Of 81 uncontested winners from the People Power Party, 24 (30%) had criminal records, totaling 40 cases and averaging 1.7 convictions per person. The Progressive Party had 1 uncontested winner without any prior convictions.

CCEJ analyzed, "The fundamental reason unfit candidates could be nominated lies in the opaque candidate selection process, dominated by local district lawmakers from the two major parties," and stated, "Parties must break away from these practices and establish strict and transparent nomination standards to ensure that qualified individuals who can truly serve local residents are chosen."

CCEJ added that it will continue urging the reevaluation of strict nomination criteria and transparent procedures, in addition to maintaining its efforts to thoroughly monitor the legislative activities of elected officials.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.