A ruling party lawmaker lost his parliamentary seat on Thursday as the top court convicted his accountant of providing illegal campaign funds to a PR company during the 2012 general election.
Upholding a lower court ruling, the Supreme Court found the accountant working for Saenuri Party lawmaker Ahn Deok-su guilty of paying 16.5 million won ($14,600) to the head of a PR company specializing in election campaigns.
The funds were provided as “consulting fees,” which aren’t among the campaign expenses allowed by law.
Heo was given a six-month suspended jail term. He, however, was not found guilty of spending 31.8 million won more than the legal limit of 197 million won.
South Korea’s election law states that lawmakers whose accountants are convicted of violating accounting regulations are subject to the loss of their parliamentary seats. (Yonhap)
