Democratic Party Files Complaint Against Kim Moon-soo for 'Violation of Political Fund Law'

The Democratic Party of Korea has filed a complaint with the police against Kim Moon-soo, the presidential candidate from the People Power Party, for allegedly violating the Political Fund Law.

On the 13th, the Democratic Party announced that it had reported Kim to the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency, raising suspicions about his YouTube Super Chat (cash donation) earnings and claiming that he received illegal political funds.

On this day, the Democratic Party's Election Law Support Group held a press conference at their Yeouido headquarters, asserting, “From 2018 to 2022, Candidate Kim earned a total of 175,646,580 KRW through 5,976 instances of Super Chat on his YouTube channel 'Kim Moon-soo TV', with an average amount of 29,392 KRW per transaction.”

According to the guidelines established by the Central Election Management Committee on 'Social Media Revenue Activities related to the Political Fund Law', receiving donations on platforms like YouTube and podcasts that politicians have opened and operate for political activities is a violation of the Political Fund Law.

Park Beom-gye, head of the legal support team, stated, “Personal donations via Super Chat have a strong character as illegal political funds,” adding, “The election commission has confirmed the illegality of Super Chats related to political funding multiple times.”

He continued, “If Candidate Kim was unaware of these facts, he is unfit to be a politician. If he was aware and continued to receive large amounts of Super Chat, he has committed a shameful illegal act.”

Moreover, Park emphasized, “Given the confirmation of a critical disqualification as a presidential candidate, Kim should immediately step down from his candidacy and return to his primary role as an extreme-right YouTuber.”

Image source: Kim Moon-soo, presidential candidate from the People Power Party / News1, YouTube 'Kim Moon-soo TV'