Mr. Cool almost loses it (his National Assembly seat, that is)

by Andy Jackson on January 1, 2009

in South Korean Politics

Kang Ki-gap, head of the Democratic Labor Party, was fined for illegal electioneering but will be able to keep his seat in the National Assembly (KT):

Jinju District Court’s branch court in Changwon sentenced Kang Ki-gab, chairman of the Democratic Labor Party, to a fine of 800,000 won ($605) for illegal electioneering ahead of the April general elections. The fine is shy of the 1 million won legal threshold that deprives lawmakers of parliament seats.

The loss of Kang’s seat would have been a significant blow to the Democratic Labor Party. He is one of only two members of the DLP to win seats in their own right (the other being party founder Kwon Young-ghil). The DLP also has three assemblymen from its 5.7% PR list performance in last April’s elections.

He is also the guts of the the DLP these days, especially since the the “People’s Democracy” faction split off from the party last year to form the New Progressive Party. It there is a protest or fight going on in the National Assembly, you can count on Kang being there.

Kang Ki-kap: Coolest member of the Kuk Hoe or stark raving loony? That is a question I have been asking since June of 2004.

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{ 6 comments… read them below or add one }

1 R. Elgin January 1, 2009 at 2:03 pm

Andy, this is a good topic, IMHO. How far can this guy go before he fails utterly and how long will Koreans put up with his pranks before they realize the guy is just another lousy politician, without merit?

It is sad to realize that the bum was just 200,000 short of being sent packing (a curse upon that Changwon judge too).

2 Railwaycharm January 1, 2009 at 3:59 pm

The only difference between politicians and criminals is the gun.

3 globalvillageidiot January 1, 2009 at 5:55 pm

“Kang Ki-kap: Coolest member of the Kuk Hoe or stark raving loony?”

Cool on the outside, crazy on the inside.

4 tbonetylr January 1, 2009 at 7:06 pm

Hell, he could’ve RAPED a retarded minor female and he still wouldn’t have been fined enough to prevent him from keeping his parliament seat.

5 eujin January 2, 2009 at 1:04 pm

I saw Kang Ki-gap at Jonggak on New Year’s Eve. He was going round the crowd greeting all his fans. I only managed to mumble a short greeting under my breath; “tosser” being the English for “one who cares“.

6 madar January 2, 2009 at 6:52 pm

…and in other news, some lucky judge in Changwon just bought himself a new BMW for Christmas.

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