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As prosecutors were preparing to charge op- position lawmaker Shin Hak-yong for accepting at least 150 million won ($147,300) at a book publishing event last September, the practice of politicians raising funds at such events was finally declared a veiled form of bribery. A special investigation team at the Seoul Central District Prosecutors’ Office said Rep. Shin of the New Politics Alliance for Democracy received at least 150 million won in supposed book sales dur - ing an hour-long publishing ceremony last year. By looking into Shin’s accounts, prosecutors discovered that he received nearly 100 envelopes each containing a 1 million won check and 10 envelopes each containing a 5 million won check, totaling 150 million won. If added to the other, smaller donations, the total amount surpasses 150 million won. The prosecutors discovered that of the 150 mil - lion won they had found in Shin’s safe-deposit box, 39 million won was given by the Korea Kindergar- ten Association in what they said were apparent kickbacks. Prosecutors are sanguine that they can prove the money exchanged was bribery for his influ- ence-peddling as Shin proposed a revision to laws regarding early childhood education in April last year, five months before his book ceremony. The politician alleges that the donations were legal and that there was no breach of the political funding law. The prosecutors’ release of figures in Shin’s al - leged graft case was the first time details of a book publishing event by a lawmaker were made public. In Korea, book publishing events are a source of funding for political activities involving politicians, including lobbying by interest groups. The politi- cal funding law states donations to politicians at publishing events are legal and don’t have to be reported to tax authorities. People invited to such events, many of whom are businessmen, customarily send envelopes full of cash or large checks in the form of a “donation” to purchase lawmakers’ biographies. Most of the books end up in the trash soon after the brief cer - emonies. Under the political fund-raising law, which was revised in 2004, lawmakers can accept a maxi- mum of 150 million won through fund-raising events each year. Individuals are restricted to annual donations of 20 million won or less. But since book publishing ceremonies are con- sidered private events, there’s no cap on their do- nations and lawmakers are not bound by law to report those earnings to the election watchdog. Likewise, there is no set price for books supposed- ly bought at such ceremonies. The books themselves are self-promoting biog- raphies written with the help of ghostwriters who receive between 10 million won and 30 million won per publication. Many lawmakers take advantage of the loophole in political funding regulations. But the prosecu- tion of Shin may alter or even end that loophole. “Although the money was paid for books at a publishing ceremony, if it is proved that it was intended for influence-peddling, we can apply a bribery charge,” said a prosecutor involved in the investigation. “And if payments of millions of won are ridicu- lously high and way beyond common sense, we ca n prosecute on charges of receiving illegal po- litical funds.” According to the JoongAng Ilbo, three lawmak - ers from the ruling Saenuri Party and 15 from the opposition NPAD would be summoned for ques- tioning on alleged influence-peddling charges. The questioning of such a large number of law- makers across party lines on graft charges and po- litical fund law violations would certainly add to public distrust of the political establishment. Because book publishing ceremonies are virtu- ally the only source of political funds without reg- ulatory strings attached, most lawmakers hold at least one such event during their four-year term. When a lawmaker holds a book ceremony, offi- cials from state-run institutions monitored by a parliamentary committee to which that lawmaker belongs usually attend the event to smooth rela- tions through a large donation. Only a few lawmakers have rejected the perva- sive practice. Among multiple-term lawmakers, Saenuri chair- man Kim Moo-sung and Reps. Lee Hahn-koo, Chin Young, Kim Tae-hwan and Han Sun-kyo have never hosted publishing events. Rep. Yoo Ihn-tae of the NPAD has never pub- lished a book in his 22-year political career. “I was offered to publish a book three years ago, but I declined,” said the veteran lawmaker. “If I were to write a book (on my political career), I would have to go very deep into details by reveal- ing names of lawmakers involved in my story. If I could not do that (as a sitting lawmaker), the book would just become mere self-promotion. I do not wish to write such a book.” China executed a 55-year-old Korean man surnamed Jang for drug trafficking a day after carrying out capital punishment on two other Korean men for similar charges, according to South Korea’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Jang was arrested in June 2009 in Qingdao, Shandong province, eastern China, by offi - cials for trafficking and selling 11.9 kilograms of methamphetamine. He was sentenced to death in a Qingdao court in May 2012. The ruling was upheld in a Shandong higher court in June last year. Chinese officials informed the Korean con - sulate in Qingdao of the approximate week of Jang’s scheduled execution. The executions of the three Korean men were carried out de- spite Seoul’s plea for clemency to Chinese au- thorities on humanitarian grounds. Jang is the fifth Korean to be executed in China. cracKdown begins on politicians’ b ooK money Korean executed in china For drug traFFicKing The number of malicious rumors, nega- tive Internet comments and copycat cover dance groups a K-pop act spawns are of- ten used as a measure of popularity in the world of contemporary Korean music. Yu Hye-na, a spokesperson for WM En- tertainment’s B1A4, says being emulated by cover dance groups suggests the band is doing a good job. “We kind of feel flattered and grateful,” said Yu. “Cover dance” is a term that describes the act of mimicking a K-pop group’s moves while “cover dance group” refers to a trib - ute ensemble that imitates a K-pop act as closely as possible. Cover dance groups have been around for years, ever since K-pop began to diversify into different channels, but some walk a fine line between homage and plagiarism, giving the nation’s entertainment industry a headache. For instance, a copycat version of B1A4 debuted in China under the name “Fighter” in 2012. The Chinese boy group was a car- bon copy of the original Korean boy band, imitating even tiny details such as the mem- bers’ stage outfits, which are accented with hot pink. The teaser images the Chinese group re- leased ahead of its debut were also identical to those of B1A4. “As far as I know, we would have to go to the country and sue the group,” said Yu. “I assume that it is not a big deal for big com- panies, but it’s quite hard for a small com- pany like us.” Major players such as SM Entertainment, YG Entertainment and JYP Entertainment, Korea’s big three music agencies, have all also had similar issues with imitation groups in recent years. K-pop cover dance groups overstep the line 27