The People Power Party on the 20th rebuffed the Democratic Party of Korea's statement that it would file a complaint under the Public Official Election Act for spreading false information regarding presidential candidate Kim Moon-soo's claim that he had "refused to accept compensation for the democratization movement," calling it "a contempt against those who participated in the democratization movement."
Shin Dong-uk, the chief spokesperson for the Central Election Countermeasure Committee, rebutted during a morning briefing held at the central party office, stating, "The Democratic Party claims that candidate Kim Moon-soo had no eligibility to apply, but that is completely untrue."
The People Power Party emphasized that candidate Kim had eligibility for the living support fund under the "Democratization Compensation Act," after serving a three-year prison sentence for violating the Assembly and Demonstration Act during the 5·3 Incheon Democratization Movement in 1986. The Democratization Compensation Review Committee received applications for restoration of honor and compensation related to the democratization movement seven times between 2000 and 2007. Individuals detained for more than 30 days due to the democratization movement or those dismissed after more than one year of service were eligible for the "living support fund." The related law restricting applications from political executives was only established in 2005, meaning that candidate Kim could have applied during one of the four compensation application periods but did not, according to the People Power Party's explanation.
However, regarding the rumored "abandonment of compensation of 1 billion won," it was noted that this originated from an interview with late activist Jang Gi-pyo, the head of the New Civilizational Policy Research Institute, in 2021, and that candidate Kim had never mentioned the compensation amount of 1 billion won.
Shin, the chief spokesperson, added, "It is truly shameful for the Democratic Party to raise this issue. It is well known to everyone that candidate Kim has dedicated his life to the democratization movement and the rights of the labor vulnerable," and stated, "Quarreling and making issues out of this is a contempt against those who participated in the democratization movement."
Earlier, the Democratic Party of Korea's Central Election Countermeasure Committee's Legal Support Division announced the previous day that "Candidate Kim has no record of applying for restoration of honor and compensation related to the democratization movement, and even if he applied, it was confirmed that he would not be eligible to receive it," and warned that it would report candidate Kim and the People Power Party lawmakers Jang Dong-hyuk and Park Dae-chul, who promoted this, to the police for violations of the Public Official Election Act.