The People Power Party spent about 300 million won on a poll of party members and a nationwide vote during the 'candidate replacement turmoil' of the 21st presidential election. Although it was confirmed that this expenditure was not drawn from accounts such as subsidies received from the government, there are criticisms that it wasted taxpayers' money since political funds themselves are public funds eligible for tax credit.
According to the People Power Party's income and expenditure accounting report for the 21st presidential election, obtained by ChosunBiz through the National Election Commission, the People Power Party spent over 140 million won on a poll regarding the unification between Kim Moon-soo, the People Power Party's presidential candidate, and Han Duck-soo, an independent preliminary candidate, conducted on May 7.
Specifically, on May 8, the People Power Party paid Yeoido Research 125,202,165 won for ARS survey costs and 19,154,736 won to Y-IT Corporation for sending notification messages.
Following that, approximately 160 million won was expended on the 'poll vote for candidate replacement' held on May 10. The People Power Party reportedly paid 144,196,303 won to Yeoido Research and 16.5 million won to Korea Electronic Voting Company on the 14th of the same month. The expense was drawn from the income account 'excluding subsidies' under the subject 'organizational activity costs.'
The People Power Party underwent severe turmoil due to the 'candidate replacement turmoil' during the early presidential election phase that followed the impeachment of former President Yoon Suk-yeol.
The party officially selected former Minister of Employment and Labor Kim Moon-soo as its presidential candidate; however, the party leadership pursued unification of the candidates based on the high approval ratings of preliminary candidate Han Duck-soo and the commitment to unify by candidate Kim.
In particular, under the belief that unification had to be achieved before the candidate registration deadline of May 11, a poll was conducted targeting the final electoral college (758,801 voters) from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. on May 7. This was led by then-leadership, including Chairman Kwon Young-se.
In this poll, when asked 'When do you think is the best time for unification?', 86.7% (182,256 respondents) answered that 'it should be done before candidate registration.' Based on these results, the party leadership canceled the appointment of candidate Kim Moon-soo early on May 10 and forced the registration of candidate Han Duck-soo.
However, as the candidate registration announcement was posted on the People Power Party's website early in the morning and it was revealed that only candidate Han submitted documents for registration alone, controversies over violations of party rules and procedural fairness spread.
Ultimately, during the 'candidate replacement poll' conducted from 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. on May 10 via ARS, more opposition opinions were expressed, leading to the abandonment of the change to candidate Han Duck-soo.
Afterwards, there was criticism within and outside the People Power Party regarding the candidate replacement process, asserting that it was a waste of public funds. Former Daegu Mayor Hong Joon-pyo, who ran in the primary, protested that if the party was going to replace the candidate, the candidates should be reimbursed for the funds they spent in the primary.
Democratic Party of Korea Representative Park Chan-dae criticized that the People Power Party wasted 16 billion won of taxpayer money during the candidate replacement process. It was confirmed that not only the costs incurred by primary candidates but also significant expenses at the party level were spent.
Even after the presidential election, the aftermath of the 'candidate replacement turmoil' continues. The People Power Party's Ethics Committee concluded on the 25th of last month that the leadership's attempt to replace the candidate was 'an act without basis in the party's constitution and regulations', and recommended a three-year suspension of party rights for former emergency committee chairman Kwon Young-se and former election management committee chairman Lee Yang-soo, who led the effort.
Political parties receive government grants such as compensation funds, election subsidies, and annual operational subsidies each election year. Political funds, excluding subsidies, are generated through carryover from the previous year, party dues, donations, contributions, and ancillary income (such as building rental fees and management fees, deposit interest).
The expenditure of 300 million won was paid under the subject 'political funds excluding election costs,' but there are criticisms in the political arena that it was an inappropriate expenditure. According to the Political Fund Act, political funds should not be spent for 'unlawful purposes.'
According to the accounting practices for political funds of party candidates in the 21st presidential election, 'unlawful purposes' are described as cases where not only the expenditure purposes of political funds are unlawful, but also violate social norms or the principle of good faith. In this regard, a National Election Commission official stated, 'We have received the presidential election accounting report and are reviewing the overall contents of the report,' adding that 'it is difficult to comment on specific matters.'
Ha Seung-su, co-representative of the Tax Thief Catching Campaign, pointed out that '(the expenditure) is public funds since, even if it was not spent under subsidies, all political funds receive tax credit benefits,' adding that 'there is still controversy over whether the candidate replacement attempt was a legitimate decision, and it should be regarded as an improper expenditure.'