Lee Junseok Driving a Taxi to Pay Off Election Debts? Reform New Party Says "Actually a Surplus"

"All Expenses Already Covered by Donations"

Lee Junseok, the candidate of the Reform New Party, ended his presidential race with a final vote share of 8.34%. As a result, he will not receive any reimbursement for election expenses. However, officials from the Reform New Party have repeatedly stated that this election was actually a "surplus" for them.

Lee Junseok, the presidential candidate of the Reform New Party, is holding an emergency press conference in front of the National Assembly Communication Office on the 27th of last month.

On the 3rd, Seo Jinseok, deputy spokesperson for the Reform New Party's election committee, addressed the issue of election expenses via social media, saying, "We have already covered everything with donations. Even if we return all the party subsidies, we are still in surplus."

He shared a post from a netizen made the previous day on social media, which read, "I feel sorry for Lee Junseok's supporters, but I have a feeling that since Lee Junseok didn't reach a 10% vote share, he'll have to pay back billions in election expenses, retire from politics, and become a taxi driver." Seo responded by saying that both the Reform New Party and Lee Junseok ran this presidential campaign solely with donations, without spending any party subsidies. He explained, "This was only possible because we knew how valuable the donations collected by party members and the party subsidies funded by taxpayers are, and we did not waste them."

Kim Cheolgeun, the party secretary-general who served as head of the Reform New Party's election situation room, also addressed the issue on CBS Radio's "Park Jaehong's One-Pan Show" earlier that morning. When asked about speculation that the party would merge with another due to financial difficulties, he emphasized, "Some people kept talking about other possibilities until the end because of election funds, but we never ran a deficit election campaign."

Kim said, "Our party is a surplus party. We do not have a single won in deficit. Even after the election is over, there is absolutely no deficit, so talking about such things shows a complete lack of understanding about our party." He continued, "Lee Junseok is a young candidate who puts his whole body and mind into the campaign. He traveled to Daegu, Pohang, and Changwon by bus at 1:30 in the morning. He didn't travel with a large entourage," adding, "Our party chapters are only about one-fourth to one-fifth the size of those of other parties. With just over 50 party chapters, it was impossible to operate any other organizations." He also said, "We didn't even have a single level-6 election staff member. Given how we ran this campaign, it makes no sense to talk about expenses now."

Regarding Lee Junseok's message to party members on the 30th of last month, in which he appealed for support saying, 'We must surpass 15%,' Kim explained, "Achieving a vote share of over 15% means gaining the power to change the landscape of Korean politics. Also, if we exceeded 15% and received a full reimbursement, the party would be able to enter the next local elections with ample funds. That is why he made such remarks." He emphasized, however, "It was not a claim that we must surpass 15% solely because of election funds."

Whether Lee Junseok would achieve a "double-digit vote share" was one of the biggest points of interest in this presidential election. According to the Public Official Election Act, if a candidate receives 15% or more of the votes, all election expenses are reimbursed; if the vote share is between 10% and 15%, half is reimbursed. However, Lee ultimately received a final vote share of 8.34%, meaning he will not be reimbursed for any of the expenses incurred in this election. It is reported that Lee spent at least 3 billion won on the campaign.