Jung Chung-rae, who is running as a candidate for leader of the Democratic Party of Korea, said on the 17th that more than 300 million won in donations was raised just one day after registering as a candidate.
Jung wrote on his Facebook page the same day, in a post titled "We're in big trouble. Thank you so much," "It seems some YouTube channel aired that my donation account was still short by 20 million won yesterday," adding, "After people saw that broadcast, as much as 380 million won poured in overnight and was deposited."
He said, "We have to return 360 million won one by one. It's a hassle, but it makes me tearfully grateful." He continued, "Because it's the weekend, we can't close the donation account. They say funds keep coming in," adding, "Please stop sending to my account and, over the weekend, send to the donation accounts of lawmakers Choi Min-hee, Lee Sung-yoon, and Han Min-soo. I would appreciate it." They are pro-Jung figures who have thrown their hats in the ring for supreme council member.
He then said, "By the way, a candidate for party leader can separately raise 150 million won in donations," adding, "We will open it soon, so I would appreciate it if you send to that account. Truly, thank you."
Jung visited Gwangju on the morning of the day to meet local party members. Attending the Seo-gu-gap local party member convention in Gwangju, he mentioned that during his tenure as leader he introduced a one-person, one-vote system without distinguishing between delegates and dues-paying party members, saying, "Wherever I go, when people see me, they say thank you for implementing one person, one vote. So I thought, 'This really is something big.'"