South Korea’s Ruling Party Obtains U.S. Lobbying Service

2019-5-13, Tara O

The ruling political party in South Korea and the party of current South Korean President Moon Jae-in, is the Deobureo Minjoo Party (더불어민주당, literally translated “With Democracy Party”), and it calls itself the Democratic Party of Korea in English.  The Democratic Party of Korea has obtained a lobbying service with Prime Policy Group, a lobbying firm in the U.S., through Parkington International, which is based in Seoul, Korea. The Democratic Party of Korea has denied it had “agreed to such a contract,” but the document below suggests otherwise.

According to the Foreign Agents Registration Act (FARA) form filed on January 28, 2019 by Prime Policy Group, a lobbying firm in the U.S., the name of the foreign principal is “Parkington International Inc (on behalf of the Democratic Party Korea).”

The retainer for the 1-year contract is $420,000, which is to be billed in equal monthly installments of $35,000.

The natures of the business are:

• Help plan Korean government official visits to the U.S.
• Provide strategic advice on policy issues
• Monitor and gather intelligence on legislative matters
• Congressional advocacy, liaison
• Executive branch monitoring, liaison, advocacy

Parkington International has a colorful past.  It was run by Mr. Tongsun Park (aka Park Dong-seon, 박동선).  According to “recent cases” on the U.S. Department of Justice website, Tongsun Park was convicted in 2007 for conspiracy to violate FARA and “money laundering in connection with a scheme to lobby for easing United States and United Nations sanctions on Iraq and to corruptly influence the award and conditions of Oil for Food contracts.”

The FARA registration form shows that Kim Byung Kwon (김병권) is the owner of Parkington.  The name coincides with Jecheon City Councilman of the Deobureo Minjoo Party/Democratic Party of Korea, Kim Byung Kwon. Kim is one of the wealthiest politicians, with assets reported at ₩276,300,000,000 (~$24 million).  It is unclear whether the Parkington owner Kim Byung Kwon is the same person as the Councilman Kim Byung Kwon.

FARA registration form that Prime Policy Group submitted to the Justice Department on May 2, 2019 shows three foreign principals the same lobbyist represents:  “Parkington International Inc (on behalf of the Democratic Party of Korea),” “the Government of National Accord Libya,” and “Turkish Republic of Northern Cypress.”

In addition to the contract beginning in January 2019 mentioned above, there was another contract in 2018, which was a direct contract between the Democratic Party of Korea and the Prime Policy Group.  The FARA form states Prime Policy Group had a verbal agreement with Kim Jin Pyo/Kim Jin-pyo (National Assemblyman, Deobureo Minjoo Party/Democratic Party of Korea) to plan a visit for him to Washington, DC in January 2018.

The Democratic Party of Korea/Deobureo Minjoo Party has been supporting President Moon Jae-in’s policies, especially vis-a-vis North Korea.  Moon has traveled to numerous countries, including the U.S., Europe, and Southeast Asia. The consistent theme of Moon’s visits has been to lobby for easing sanctions against North Korea.  Joshua Stanton has also explained that South Korea outspent Israel, China, and Saudi Arabia combined to influence the U.S. policy community as well as Moon’s efforts to gain support to lift sanctions against North Korea.  While it is unclear exactly why the Democratic Party of Korea/Deobureo Minjoo Party decided to obtain the service of a lobbying group, especially through a third party, supporting Moon’s efforts, i.e., easing sanctions against North Korea, cannot be ruled out.

Another interesting item to note is that it is the ruling political party that is employing the lobbying service, initially directly, and now, through a third party.  Its denial that it did not agree to a contract with a U.S. lobbying firm is perhaps an indication that it is trying to hide the fact that it is trying to influence the U.S. policy.

Additional sources:

Dong Yon Kim’s Polisseum has more on this issue (in Korean with some English):

• https://kimdongyon.wordpress.com/2019/05/06/fara-minju/
• https://kimdongyon.wordpress.com/2019/05/09/koreagate-parkington/

FARA registration forms:

• https://efile.fara.gov/docs/6377-Supplemental-Statement-20190430-5.pdf
• https://efile.fara.gov/docs/6377-Short-Form-20190128-32.pdf
• https://efile.fara.gov/docs/6377-Exhibit-AB-20190128-7.pdf