Many Party-List Candidates Rich and Draft-Exempt

The National Election Commission on Sunday unveiled the assets, tax and military service records and police files of 188 candidates of the party lists for the general election. These candidates will get their seats according to a proportional vote and do not need to stand for election in constituencies.

On average, each candidate had W1.53 billion in assets (US$1=W1,134). The hard-right Liberty Forward Party had the richest party-list candidates with an average of W4 billion, followed by the ruling Saenuri Party with W2.2 billion and the Democratic United Party at W600 million.

In terms of the number of candidates who did avoided mandatory military service, the Saenuri Party had seven, followed by the DUP's five, and the LFP's and Unified Progressive Party’s three each.