Han Dong-hoon surpasses 1 billion won in just 40 minutes… closes at 2.94 billion won in 11 hours

Han Dong-hoon, a preliminary candidate for the People Power Party's early presidential primary on June 3, raised a total of 2.94 billion won in donations, reaching the legal limit in less than 11 hours after starting fundraising.

This figure surpasses the record set by Lee Jae-myung, the former leader of the Democratic Party, for "the shortest time and the highest number of donations."

On the 22nd, the "People First Campaign," Han's campaign team, announced that as of 7:55 PM on the previous day (the 21st), the total amount raised by the preliminary candidate was 2,942,642,421 won. This achievement came in just 10 hours and 55 minutes after the donation account was made public at 9 AM that day, marking an unprecedented pace.

The total number of donors was 35,038, with an average donation amount of 83,984 won per person. Notably, 93.9% (32,893) of all donors contributed 100,000 won or less, categorized as 'small donors.' According to campaign officials, many people sent donations matching the numbers from Han's main pledges, represented by '3*4*7' – aiming to become an "AI powerhouse," achieve a national income of 40,000 dollars, and establish a middle-class proportion of 70%.

The campaign announced that just 40 minutes after the start of fundraising at 9:40 AM, they surpassed 1.05 billion won, and then exceeded 2 billion won by 2:03 PM. They had conducted preliminary promotions on social media the day before, officially starting fundraising the next morning.

Kim Han-na, the widow of the late Sergeant Han Sang-guk, who died in the Second Yeonpyeong Sea Battle, has been appointed as the chairperson of the preliminary candidate's fundraising committee. Kim served as the fundraising chair during Han's candidacy for the People Power Party's convention last year.

Lee Jae-myung also completed fundraising in one day… "Han Dong-hoon took half the time"

Kim Jong-hyuk, a spokesperson for Han's campaign, stated, "Even Lee Jae-myung from the Democratic Party, who is considered a 'monarchical candidate,' took 23 hours to close fundraising, while we finished in less than half that time."

He continued, "This outcome shows how thirsty the public is for good politics," adding, "We feel a heavy responsibility towards the hopes of young people and numerous small donors."

Lee's fundraising committee also announced that after starting donations at 10 AM on the 15th, they achieved the legal limit of 2.94 billion won within 24 hours, with over 63,000 supporters contributing. At that time, 99% of the donors were small donors under 100,000 won, and it was reported that over 250 million won had been deposited above the limit, with refund procedures underway. They did not specify an end time for fundraising.

Prior to launching his campaign, Lee took to Facebook an hour before to request support, stating, "Please invest in Lee Jae-myung," and the next day, he expressed his gratitude, saying, "I sincerely thank over 63,000 comrades."

The situations during the party leadership competition were similar. Last July, Han raised the party leader candidate limit (150 million won) just 8 minutes and 50 seconds after revealing his donation account, while Lee achieved the limit within an hour when he re-ran for the Democratic Party’s convention on August 18 of the same year.

According to political funding laws, voters can donate up to 5 million won per year (10 million won for presidential primary candidate fundraising) to a specific politician, with full tax deductions for donations of up to 100,000 won, while excess amounts receive income tax benefits.

Image source: Han Dong-hoon preliminary candidate / News1, News1, Lee Jae-myung Democratic Party presidential primary candidate / News1