First-time lawmaker’s complaint about the lack of money

Rep. Kim Hyung-won of the main opposition Minjoo Party of Korea has stirred controversy after he wrote a posting on his salary on his Facebook page on Saturday. “I have received a monthly salary of 8.8 million won (7,530 U.S. dollars) to my bank account. As I have plenty of money to pay back, I don’t know how I should do my legislative activities as a lawmaker," he wrote. "I opened a new loan account. Without donation, I think I cannot operate my office for a single month.” The first-time lawmaker disclosed his financial condition to ask for donation, but an overwhelming number of people criticized him for whining about his salary.

It is nonsense if he really wanted to pay the debts that he had made before becoming a lawmaker with his salary. If he needs to pay the debts that were incurred in the course of getting nominated for proportionate representation, he should clarify how he has got into debt. Unlike candidates who run for election in constituencies, candidates selected for proportionate representation have no reason to spend money. Moreover, nomination kickbacks do not exist anymore. We really want to hear from him what kind of debts did he want to pay back with his salary?

The 8.8 million won (7,530 dollars), the first salary Rep. Kim earned, is after tax income. Lawmakers receive holiday bonuses and two more bonuses, while having 7.7 million won (6,590 dollars) as operation fee of their office. As nine advisors including two interns are paid by the government, 67.6 million dollars (57,850 dollars) is spent annually for one lawmaker from taxpayers’ money. Lawmakers’ salary in Korea is the third largest among OECD member countries following Japan and Italy. On top of this, lawmakers can raise up to 150 million won (128,370 dollars) for the year when there is no nationwide election and also collect up to 300 million won (256,740 dollars) contribution in an election year.

Lawmakers in European countries where democracy has matured commute on a bicycle and share office and advisors with other lawmakers. The news that the wife of the U.S. state of Maine started to work as a waitress due to economic difficulties despite her husband’s annual salary of 70,000 dollars has created a buzz. Why can’t we hear such a story in Korea?

Rep. Kim is a former student representative of the prestigious Seoul National University. As a farmer who raised Korean native cattle in Euiseong, North Gyeongsang Province for 25 years, Kim has been elected by proportionate representation to represent farmers. Also a former student representative of Ewha Woman’s University, Kim's wife served as a member of the innovative committee of the main opposition Minjoo Party. Kim would have been applauded if he had expressed his hope that he would take the initiative in reforming old politics for low cost and high efficiency, instead of whining about the lack of money.

이진녕 jinnyong@donga.com