"Farm with Fertilizer Bags Listed as Party Office?"... Controversy Arises That "Yong Hye-in Could Lose Her Assembly Seat"

Yong Hye-in, nominee for Minister of Gender Equality and Family, has sparked controversy as a significant number of regional city and provincial chapter offices of the Basic Income Party, to which she belongs, are registered at farms or private residential apartments.

According to the offices of People Power Party lawmakers Kim Jeong-jae and Joo Jin-woo, it was found that 6 out of 10 Basic Income Party city and provincial chapter offices registered apartments or farms as their addresses.

The South Gyeongsang provincial chapter as well as the Busan and Incheon metropolitan chapter offices registered their addresses in private apartments, while the Gwangju-South Jeolla provincial chapter registered in a house.

The South Chungcheong and North Jeolla provincial chapters were found to be registered at farms owned by their respective provincial chapter chairpersons.

In response, People Power Party lawmaker Joo Jin-woo criticized, "When visiting the sites, they were either farms piled only with fertilizer bags or apartments where individuals reside. Anyone can see that carrying out official party activities from these locations is impossible."

Lawmaker Joo argued, "The Political Parties Act stipulates that a political party must have five or more city and provincial chapters, with each chapter having at least 1,000 party members within its jurisdiction. If the Basic Income Party failed to properly establish five or more normal city and provincial chapters, it is a violation of the Political Parties Act and clear grounds for the cancellation of party registration."

He added, "If a party's registration is cancelled, it naturally constitutes grounds for the expulsion of proportional representation lawmakers, meaning lawmaker Yong Hye-in would also lose her parliamentary seat."

Lawmaker Joo pointed out, "The state subsidies disbursed to the Basic Income Party's city and provincial chapters this year alone reach 150 million won. If the number of party members was inflated or office locations were falsely registered from the beginning, it is subject to punishment under the Political Parties Act, and the taxes disbursed to locations without activities are highly likely to violate the Political Funds Act."

He stated that he would request an investigation by the National Election Commission and the police.

The Basic Income Party immediately pushed back against these claims.

Through a statement, the Basic Income Party countered that it was an unfair political offensive, stating, "The city and provincial chapters were founded in legal compliance with statutory requirements and have continued practical regional activities."

(Reported by Jung Da-eun | Video by Jang Yu-jin | Graphics by Lee Jeong-ju | Produced by SBS Digital News)
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.