Lee Jun-seok, a former presidential candidate of the Reform Party, failed to surpass a 10% vote rate in the presidential election on the 3rd, resulting in not receiving any compensation for election expenses. However, Reform Party members have stated that this election actually resulted in a 'surplus.'
Seo Jin-seok, a deputy spokesperson of the campaign committee, noted on social media (SNS) on the 3rd regarding election expenses, 'We have already covered everything with donations. Even if we return all the party subsidies, we are in surplus,' he said.
He shared a post from an internet user uploaded on SNS the previous day, which read, 'I apologize to Lee Jun-seok's supporters, but somehow I feel Lee Jun-seok might not reach the 10% vote rate and will end up retiring from politics to become a taxi driver'.
Seo deputy spokesperson, in another post, also stated, 'The Reform Party and the candidate managed the campaign solely with donations without any expenditure of party subsidies,' adding, 'This was possible because we knew how valuable the funds gathered by party members and the taxpayer's money received as subsidies were, so we did not spend it frivolously.'
The National Election Commission compensates election expenses within the limit of 58.85 billion won. If a presidential candidate receives 15% or more of the total valid votes, all expenses spent by the party or candidate are compensated, and if they receive 10-15%, only half is compensated.
However, the final vote rate for the former candidate was 8.34%. The candidate will not receive any reimbursement for the estimated 3 billion won election expenses.
Kim Cheol-geun, secretary-general of the party, who served as the head of the general situation room for the Reform Party's campaign headquarters, appeared on CBS radio on the evening of the 2nd. When asked about the speculation of unification due to election funds, he replied, 'Some were talking differently until the end due to election funds, but there was no 'deficit campaign fund' campaign.'
Kim Secretary-General noted, 'Election funds were extremely insufficient. While the first and second parties generally operate with about 50 billion won, we were working with about one-tenth of that,' adding, 'There were many constraints within that range. For example, there were shortages in election broadcasts, election ads, portal ads, election campaign vehicles, and campaign workers.'
However, when asked if the compensation of election expenses might be used as grounds for future unification, he replied, 'Our party is a surplus party,' adding, 'There is not a single won of deficit. Even when the election is over, there is absolutely no deficit, so speaking about that is a sign of not knowing the party at all.'
Meanwhile, former candidate Lee Jun-seok conceded defeat 1.5 hours after the presidential election voting ended on the 4th, stating, 'I hope to analyze what we did well and what we didn't during this election process and make significant progress in the local elections approaching exactly one year later.'