Yoon Sang-hyun proposes law to disclose candidate drunk driving records

South Korean lawmaker Yoon Sang-hyun of the People Power Party has proposed a new amendment to the Public Official Election Act, dubbed the ‘Kim Seung-won Prevention Act.’ The bill aims to close a loophole regarding the disclosure of criminal records for public office candidates.

Under current laws, candidates are only required to disclose criminal records involving fines of 1 million won or more. This allowed Kim Seung-won, a candidate for Minister of Justice, to omit a 2008 drunk driving conviction from election materials because the fine was only 700,000 won. Yoon criticized the current threshold, arguing that a 300,000 won difference should not prevent voters from knowing about crimes that threaten public safety and official ethics.