President Lee Jae-myung stated today (September 29) that vote buying is taking place in elections for leadership positions in private business organizations and that punitive provisions are needed to curb such practices.

Presiding over a cabinet meeting at Cheong Wa Dae on the same day, President Lee pointed out, "While there are legal provisions to punish the exchange of money and valuables in NongHyup (National Agricultural Cooperative Federation) elections, there is no way to penalize the buying and selling of votes in general (business organizations) outside of NongHyup."

He added, "Vote buying is a very bad practice that must be eradicated, yet because there are no penalty clauses, we openly watch vote buying happen, and once the election ends, that is the end of it," explaining, "The Office of the President is currently reviewing measures to correct this."

President Lee said, "In the case of private business organizations, becoming chairman brings tremendous vested interests. If those interests are significant enough to make it worthwhile to buy votes with money, then regulation is also necessary."

Taking into account concerns that the government could be seen as excessively interfering in private groups, President Lee instructed, "It seems necessary to limit (the organizations covered) through enforcement decrees. I would like you to review this within a scope that does not apply too broadly."

(Photo: Cheong Wa Dae Press Corps, Yonhap News)