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As of 5 p.m. Wednesday, which is the first day for candidacy registration in the 17th general election, 243 candidates throughout the nation and 370 candidates from local electorates registered, a competition ratio of 1.52 to 1. The National Election Commission (NEC) expects the ratio to be 5 to 1 by Thursday when registration closes.
Looking at the tax records of the National Assembly aspirants, which are posted on the NEC’s Web site, 21 candidates did not pay any income tax for the past five years. Including these 21 people, 56 candidates (15.1 percent) paid income tax of less than W100,000 during the same period. Moreover, 120 candidates (32.7 percent) reported that they paid income tax totaling less than W1 million for the past five years.
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As the National Election Commission begin receiving candidacy registration Wednesday, candidates from various parties hold hands, promising fair competition at the National Election Commission Office Wednesday.
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According to the National Statistical Office, the total amount of income tax collected last year was W19.1604 trillion, and 4.74 million people paid about W4.04 million annually as income tax. In this regard, the income tax paid by the candidates is comparatively lower, and criticism surrounding the issue seems inevitable.
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A scene from the National Election Commission. Once the candidates register, their photos and profiles pop up on the screen.
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According to the tax records, candidates from the Grand National Party paid an average of W104.33 million, the Uri Party W94.15 million, the Millennium Democratic Party W64.81 million, the United Liberal Democrats W30.14 million, and the Democratic Labor Party came in last with W6.53 million. Assets totaled an average of W1.45 billion for GNP candidates, W860 million for the Uri Party, W800 million for the MDP, and around W84 million for the Democratic Labor Party candidates.
Among the registered candidates, 16.8 percent did do their military service due to illness and 18.1 percent had criminal records.
(Park Du-sik, dspark@chosun.com )
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