President Lee Jae-myung said on the 19th that regarding the recent sharp increase in deposit requirements for candidates running in the Democratic Party's convention, "if possible, I wonder whether we might consider rolling it back to the previous level."
Posting on X, formerly Twitter, that day, President Lee said, "The fact that someone cannot run in an election because of money is a sad thing, but it also increases the incentive for corruption." He added, "One of the core elements of Roh Moo-hyun's political reform, which everyone acknowledges and which fundamentally changed Korean politics, was money-free elections, that is, the introduction of a publicly funded election system." He continued, "Without President Roh Moo-hyun's 'money-free election' reform, I too would never have dreamed of politics."
He went on to say, "That is why, when I was the Democratic Party leader, I tried to introduce a 'publicly funded party election system,' but due to counterarguments that it was necessary to prevent a flood of candidates, I sharply reduced the deposit amount." He added, "But in this party leadership election, the deposit has been sharply raised, and in particular the deposit for young candidates has increased several times over, so I hear young candidates are struggling, which is regrettable."
President Lee said, "Sitting lawmakers have their salaries and even political funds, so their burden is at least smaller, but those outside the National Assembly, especially young people, will face a heavy burden." He added, "The party's finances are not in difficulty, and there is a need to consider the hardships of young people and to make policy accommodations, so if possible, I wonder whether you might consider rolling the deposit back to the previous level."
He also said, "As a senior who bore the sorrow of having no money in my youth and overcame the walls of vested interests through countless challenges, I would like to at least help publicize the donation accounts of young candidates for their sake." He added, "There may be some who point to this as interference in party affairs, but under current law and the party constitution and regulations, a president, as a party member, is allowed to voice opinions on the affairs of his party, so I hope there is no misunderstanding."
According to the Democratic Party's Central Election Management Committee, the deposit for this preliminary primary is 20 million won for party leader candidates and 20 million won for supreme council member candidates. Young candidates aged 39 or under who are outside the National Assembly receive a 50% reduction.
