바야 콘 디오스

Abstract

This essay aims at making an alternative story different from the accusation story against Kwak Nohyun, the education superintendent of Seoul against the Public Official Election Act. The epicenter of the alternative story is the deep religious mind of Prof. Kang, superintendent’s best friend, who tried to reconcile the superintendent and Prof. Park, the superintendent-candidate to each other and to lessen Park’s financial predicament caused by election campaign. This essay will be summarized as follows. The first part of my paper will contend that “crime of candidacy-sale after resignation” stipulated in paragraph 232(1) 2 of the Public Official Election Act is so abnormal that the rational lawyer could not delineate the reasonable sphere of norm application. The provision fails in stipulating the subjective element of crime properly, and contravenes the time-limit of human conduct and election campaign. Therefore, it goes contrary to the leitmotif of the Public Official Election Act which stabilizes the political and social insecurity after the election. Second, the essence of the event is to restore the uncomfortable relation between Kwak, superintendent and resigned Candidate Prof. Park. It should be considered that civil society’s demand for candidacy unification was an exclusive cause and reason for Park’s resignation of candidacy. According to Election Acts, Park’s campaign cost was not at all covered by the state because of his resignation. It is another serious error of legislator. Third, crime of selling or buying candidacy after resignation is basically incompatible with the settled customs concerning campaign cost auditing and allotment of political positions in political parties. This provision runs counter to the constitutional principle of equality, in so far as it will be applicable only to the political independents or candidate grounded on the citizen's initiative. Kwak is morally obliged to help emergently Prof. Park, because Park’s financial predicament was brought about through his sacrifice for the social objective of candidate unification. My conclusion suggests that Kwak might take the status of moral guarantee to relieve Park’s extreme financial needs. This money-giving is really either a supererogatory duty or a morally demanded ‘perfect duty’.