Lee Junseok Fails to Surpass 10% Threshold, Misses Out on Election Expense Reimbursement

Election Expense Reimbursement Denied...
Lee Junseok Expected to Spend About 3 Billion Won
Total Reimbursement for Lee Jaemyung and Kim Moonsu Reaches Approximately 115.5 Billion Won

Lee Junseok, the candidate of the Reform New Party, concluded his presidential race with a final vote share of 8.34%, which means he will not be eligible for election expense reimbursement.

Whether Lee Junseok would achieve a double-digit vote share was one of the main points of interest in this presidential election. According to the Public Official Election Act, a candidate who receives 15% or more of the votes is reimbursed for the full amount of their campaign expenses, while those who receive between 10% and 15% are reimbursed for half.

Initially, political circles were watching closely to see if Lee Junseok would surpass the 10% threshold, but his final vote share remained at 8.34%, leaving him unable to recover any of the expenses incurred during this election.

Lee Junseok, the presidential candidate of the Reform New Party, arrived at the party's vote counting situation room set up in the National Assembly Members' Office Building on the 3rd after checking the exit poll announcements from the three major broadcasting stations and shared his thoughts.

According to the National Election Commission on June 3, the spending limit for the 21st presidential election was approximately 58.8 billion won, which is about 7.5 billion won (14.7%) higher than the 20th presidential election. The total amount to be reimbursed to President Lee Jaemyung and People Power Party candidate Kim Moonsu, both of whom received more than 10% of the votes in this election, is expected to reach about 115.5 billion won. In the previous election, both then-candidate Yoon Sukyeol and Lee Jaemyung received full reimbursement of their expenses, each totaling over 40 billion won.

However, Lee Junseok failed to surpass the 10% threshold for reimbursement, ending up with a vote share in the 8% range. Previously, President Lee Jaemyung speculated during the campaign that Lee Junseok would have spent around 5 to 6 billion won on his campaign, and claimed that Lee would seek to unify with Kim Moonsu to recoup those expenses. Contrary to President Lee's expectations, however, Lee Junseok firmly rejected multiple proposals for unification from the People Power Party and completed the race independently. As a result, Lee Junseok and the Reform New Party are left to shoulder campaign expenses estimated to be in the billions of won.

Meanwhile, Lee Junseok received strong support from men in their 20s and 30s in this election, but his overall vote share remained in the single digits, which analysts say demonstrates the limitations of his appeal. According to exit polls conducted by the three major terrestrial broadcasters, Lee Junseok was projected to receive 7.7% of the total vote across all age groups, but achieved double-digit support among those in their 20s (24.3%) and 30s (17.7%). Notably, among men in their 20s, 37.2% supported Lee Junseok, making him the only candidate to surpass President Lee Jaemyung and Kim Moonsu in this demographic. Among men in their 30s, 25.8% chose Lee Junseok.

After the exit poll results were announced, Lee Junseok visited the party's vote counting situation room set up in the National Assembly in Yeouido, Seoul, and stated, "I take full responsibility for the results and outcomes of this election," adding, "We will thoroughly analyze what we did well and what we did not, and I hope that exactly one year from now, in the upcoming local elections, the Reform New Party can make a significant leap forward." He continued, "This presidential election was truly fierce, and I believe that, above all, many citizens must have suffered in the aftermath of the martial law process. I hope that through this election, the confusion will come to an end and the Republic of Korea will be able to advance once again."