The total amount of political donations to South Korean lawmakers last year saw a big drop from the previous year, data showed Thursday.

A total of 298 lawmakers raised some 31 billion won (27.6 million U.S. dollars) in 2011, down from 47.7 billion won a year earlier, according to a report by the National Election Commission (NEC).

Out of the top 20 recipients of political contributions, 11 were members of the main opposition party, the center-left Democratic United Party, and seven were from the conservative ruling Saenury Party.

Under the current law, an individual lawmaker can raise up to 150 million won a year, but can receive double the amount when elections are held in the same year.

"The number of small donations seems to have decreased due to investigations into illegal political fundraising activity and distrust of politics," an NEC official was quoted as saying by Yonhap News Agency.