Ruling party draws most political donations in first half

SEOUL, Aug. 27 (Yonhap) -- South Korean lawmakers collected a total of 11.25 billion won (US$9.26 million) in political donations in the first half of this year, with an average of 37 million won per lawmaker, data from the state election watchdog showed Tuesday.

The lawmakers of the ruling Democratic Party collected the largest amount of donations in the January-June period, followed by those of the main opposition Liberty Korea Party (LKP) and the Bareunmirae Party, according to the National Election Commission's data on lawmakers' collection of donations in the first half.

The total donations that the 128 ruling party lawmakers raised were tallied at 5.26 billion won, or an average of 41.15 million won, while 113 LKP lawmakers collected a total of 4.01 billion won, or an average of 35.54 million won.

Donations drawn by the 28 lawmakers of the Bareunmirae Party totaled 650 million won and averaged 23.24 million won.

Rep. Sohn Hye-won of the Democratic Party raised the largest amount at 167 million won, followed by Rep. Lee Yong-deuk of the same party with 145 million won and LKP Rep. Kim Jin-tae with 121 million won.

sshluck@yna.co.kr
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