Ghostwriters speak as PPP questions politicians' lucrative book events

In Korea, it is common for many lawmakers and officials who resign from their positions to run for the National Assembly to organize book publishing events as a means of political fundraising.

People put cash into an envelope to pay for a politician's book at a publishing event. [JOONGANG PHOTO]

People Power Party interim leader Han Dong-hoon said Thursday that his party would push for legislation prohibiting politicians from receiving political funds through book publishing events.

No laws explicitly regulate such events, except for a clause in the Public Official Election Act banning candidates from holding book publishing events 90 days before an election.

In Korea, it is common for many lawmakers and officials who resign from their positions to run for the National Assembly to organize book publishing events as a means of political fundraising.

Han Dong-hoon, left, the interim leader of the People Power Party, speaks at an emergency leadership committee meeting at the National Assembly in western Seoul on Thursday. [YONHAP]

“We know that we have allowed people to hold book publishing events and receive political funds far exceeding the actual price of the book until now,” Han said in an emergency leadership committee meeting. “Someone needs to end this at some point decisively.”

This marks the fifth reform measure Han has announced as the leader of the PPP, including his proposal to downsize the National Assembly to 250 seats from the current 300.

Former Trade Minister Bang Moon-kyu, who announced his participation in the upcoming general election in April to represent Suwon, Gyeonggi, released his autobiography just three days after stepping down from his position. The book of almost 300 pages contained the former minister’s childhood stories, his 35 years of experience working in the public sector and his ambitious vision for the development of Suwon.

Former Minister of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs Chung Hwang-keun announced his candidacy to represent Cheonan in South Chungcheong during his book publishing event held last Sunday. He resigned from his post as the minister on Dec. 28 last year.

Former Vice Gender Equality and Family Minister Lee Ki-soon, who is running for the election to represent Sejong, held a publishing event last Tuesday, just 12 days after she announced her resignation.

According to sources, ghostwriters were behind the prompt publication of these politicians' autobiographies. Books take at least three to four months to write, edit, print and publish.

For politicians whose “time is money,” writing hundreds of pages is practically impossible.

“We can't spare time and write a book,” a former lawmaker told the JoongAng Ilbo on condition of anonymity. “Nine of ten politicians would have received help from ghostwriters or their assistants to publish their books.”

Ghostwriters are usually introduced through ghostwriter associations, election campaign companies and publishing companies.

According to the Korea Ghostwriter Association, a non-profit organization, its“top” ghostwriters wrote for 18 preliminary candidates of the upcoming election from 15 regions ahead of the general election slated for April.

For top ghostwriters, fees start from 10 million won ($7,500) and can go as high as 40 million, depending on the politician’s detailed requests. An entire book can be completed in a month, depending on how many writers get involved.

The writers say that these books follow a similar pattern: from upbringing and hardships, their motivations for becoming a politician and their plans for the region in which they are running. The process takes much less time if the candidate has published many photos, interviews and columns. However, if there isn’t much material, interviewing the subjects and finishing the book may take three to four months.

“More than three writers, including myself, were assigned to write and complete a book for a former prominent lawmaker within a month,” a ghostwriter with 10 years of experience said. “While it may have been challenging for the writers, from the client's perspective, it's not a big deal as long as they have the money to pay us.”

Former Trade, Industry and Energy Minister Bang Moon-kyu holds a publishing event for his autobiography in Suwon, Gyeonggi, on Jan. 7 [BANG MOON-KYU]

Another ghostwriter who has been in the field for 15 years said there were occasions when the clients overrode their authority.

“Some even asked me why they need to do an interview, telling us to write what they paid us for, while some said they cannot pay the amount they promised after we finished the book,” the writer said.

“The clients usually don't care much about whether a book is meaningful or entertaining as their purpose is solely to hold a publishing event.”

In most cases, former and incumbent lawmakers fill their biographies with legislative reports, former news releases and photos.

A proportional representative recently published a 300-page autobiography at the beginning of this month, including pictures from committee meetings and plenary sessions and posters from seminars he organized.

“I have written a draft for a legislator's autobiography upon their request,” a former aide of a lawmaker said. “Based on the legislator's past interviews, media articles and news releases, I completed a 200-page manuscript in about two weeks.”

Their books, hastily created just for the election, sell briskly at book launch events. Also, it is a custom to pay around 50,000 won to 100,000 won for a book sold at the event, far exceeding retail prices of about 20,000 won. The event, therefore, generates tens of millions to even billions of won.

During such events for incumbent legislators, officials from related committees or companies flock to the event to impress them.

However, in many cases, these tens of million-won worth of books are not officially distributed. That is why many say such events are just for raising political funds.

A former head of a local government in Gyeonggi held a book publishing event on Jan. 6, with 1,500 visitors coming to the area. However, the book cannot be found anywhere as it did not obtain an International Standard Book Number (ISBN). Books cannot be sold online or offline without an ISBN.

“I thought the book was not enough to be sold as I was in a rush making it,” the former head said. “I only sold it to those who came to the event, but I can send the book by post if needed.”

Another book by a politician who ran for the 2020 general election to represent Gyeonggi has not yet been submitted to the National Library of Korea. All publications are required to be submitted to the National Library within 30 days of publication. The book’s publishing company said it was not submitted because it was not created to be sold.

“There are many politicians who refrain from selling them publicly not only because of their lacking content but because they are afraid some parts of the book might be publicly debated like Daegu Mayor Hong Joon-pyo’s story on pig stimulant,” a ghostwriter said, adding that many officials agree to publish their autobiographies without issuing an ISBN for that reason.

BY LEE CHANG-HOON,JEON MIN-GOO AND CHO JUNG-WOO [cho.jungwoo1@joongang.co.kr]