Account Closed After Exceeding Fundraising Limit
"Continued Participation Possible Through Party Support Group"
Lee Junseok, a member of the Reform New Party who failed to secure at least 10% of the vote in the 6·3 presidential election and therefore will not be reimbursed for his campaign expenses, announced that he exceeded the National Assembly member support group fundraising limit of 300 million won. This is in line with his previous stance that "even without reimbursement, there is still a surplus."
Lee Junseok, a member of the Reform New Party, announced that he exceeded the National Assembly member support group fundraising limit of 300 million won.
On June 6, Lee stated on his Facebook page, "As of June 4, I have exceeded the fundraising limit of 300 million won for National Assembly members," and added, "Accordingly, the support group account has been closed."
He expressed his gratitude by saying, "I always appreciate the party members and supporters who expect newness and continue to support me," and promised, "I will repay your valuable donations with politics that I am not ashamed of."
He went on to say, "For those who wish to provide additional support, please donate to the Reform New Party's party support group. We will repay you with various initiatives to create a new political culture," and he also shared a link to the support page. He added that donations can also be made via credit card or easy payment methods.
Previously, as rumors spread that Lee would have to drive a taxi after retiring from politics due to not being reimbursed for his campaign expenses, Seo Jinseok, deputy spokesperson for the Reform New Party's election campaign committee, countered, "We have already covered everything with donations. Even if we return all party subsidies, we will still have a surplus."
Seo also stated, "The Reform New Party and candidate Lee managed this presidential election solely with donations, without spending any party subsidies," and explained, "This was possible because we understood how precious the donations collected by party members and the party subsidies funded by taxpayers are, and we did not spend them carelessly."
According to the National Election Commission, candidates or parties must file for campaign expense reimbursement by June 23. If they receive at least 15% of the valid votes, they are reimbursed in full; if they receive between 10% and 15%, they are reimbursed half; but if they do not exceed 10%, they receive no reimbursement.
Accordingly, President Lee Jaemyung, who received 49.42% of the votes, and Kim Moonsoo, former candidate of the People Power Party, who received 41.15%, are eligible for full reimbursement. In contrast, Lee, who received 8.34%, will have to bear the entire estimated 3 billion won in campaign expenses personally.
Meanwhile, Lee sparked controversy during the presidential TV debate by quoting inappropriate remarks about women's bodies, and as a result, the National Human Rights Commission received dozens of human rights violation complaints related to his comments. Some citizens have also filed criminal complaints.
As of 2 p.m. on June 7, a national petition calling for Lee's expulsion from the National Assembly had gathered 277,488 signatures. Lee is scheduled to be reviewed by the National Assembly. According to the Constitution, expulsion of a member of the National Assembly requires the approval of at least two-thirds of all members. However, there has not yet been a case where a member was expelled through a national petition.
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