If the voting rate exceeds 15%, full compensation… 50% for 10-15%

With the 21st presidential election concluded, attention is focused on how much financial compensation candidates and parties can receive for their election costs.

According to the National Election Commission on the 7th, candidates and parties participating in the election must submit their claims for election cost compensation by the 23rd. The election commission plans to review violations of election campaign regulations and, by August, compensate election costs based on the voting rate.

Under the current Public Election Act, candidates who receive more than 15% of the total valid votes are eligible for full compensation of their election expenses, while those with a voting rate between 10% and 15% can receive half of their costs. However, this only applies if there are no violations such as restrictions on donations or false accounting.

Lee Jae-myung and Kim Moon-soo to receive full compensation of 115.5 billion won

In this presidential election, Lee Jae-myung, who achieved a final voting rate of 49.42%, and Kim Moon-soo, who got 41.15%, are eligible for full compensation. The combined election costs they will recover are expected to amount to approximately 115.5 billion won.

This year's limit on election expenses is set at 58.852 billion won, which is about a 14% increase compared to the previous election (51.39 billion won). In the last 20th presidential election, the Democratic Party received 43.1 billion won, while the People's Power Party received 39.4 billion won in compensation.

On the other hand, candidates who fail to reach a 10% voting rate will not be compensated due to insufficient standards.

Lee Jun-seok and Kwon Young-guk will not receive compensation

Former candidate Lee Jun-seok of the Reform Party recorded a voting rate of 8.34% and was excluded from compensation. His election costs are estimated to be around 3 billion won, which he will cover entirely out of pocket or through party funds.

However, the Reform Party maintains that there is no financial burden. Deputy Spokesperson Seo Jin-seok stated on Facebook on the 3rd, “The election costs have already been covered by donations, and even if we return the party subsidies, we are in a surplus structure.”

Kwon Young-guk, the candidate from the Democratic Labor Party (with a voting rate of 0.98%), is also not eligible for compensation, and candidates who withdrew mid election, including independent candidate Song Jin-ho, must also submit financial reports to the election commission. Regardless of compensation, all candidates are required to report their accounts diligently in accordance with the Public Election Act.

Image source: News1, Former Presidential Candidate Lee Jun-seok of the Reform Party / News1