President Lee Jae-myung on the 19th, regarding the Democratic Party of Korea convention candidate deposit, said, "It is not that the party's finances are in difficulty, and there is also the hardship faced by young people and the need for policy consideration," adding, "If possible, how about considering returning the deposit to the previous level." In response to the president's proposal, the Democratic Party of Korea central election committee decided to hold a full meeting on the 21st to revisit the deposit.
Earlier, the party election committee decided that in the Aug. 17 convention, the deposits for party leader and supreme council candidates would be 100 million won and 50 million won, respectively. It decided to reduce the amount by 50% for young candidates outside the National Assembly. Over this, party leadership contenders including candidate Kim Min-seok and supreme council candidate Kim Hyeong-nam publicly raised issues, saying the deposit level was excessive. Candidate Kim Min-seok said, "Compared with when Lee Jae-myung was party leader, the party leader must pay 30 million won more and a supreme council member 17.5 million won more. What is this with no explanation."
In the midst of this, the president also spoke out directly. On X (formerly Twitter) that day, the president said, "It is sad that someone cannot run for office because of money, but it also increases the incentive for corruption," adding, "If there had been no reform by President Roh Moo-hyun for 'elections that don't cost money,' I would not even have dreamed of politics. So when I was Democratic Party leader, I sought to introduce a 'public financing system for party office elections,' but due to the counterargument that it was needed to prevent a flood of candidates, we drastically reduced the deposit amount."
He went on, "In this party leadership election, the deposit has been raised sharply, and in particular the deposit for young candidates has multiplied several times, so it is regrettable to hear that young candidates are struggling," adding, "Sitting members of the National Assembly have salaries and even political funds, so the burden may be lighter for them, but for those outside the Assembly, especially young people, the burden will be heavy."
Regarding this, the president said the party election committee needs to discuss lowering the deposit to the previous level, adding, "As a senior who bore the sorrow of having no money in youth and overcame the walls of vested interests through countless challenges, I would even like to promote the sponsorship accounts of young candidates for their sake."
In particular, seemingly mindful that the old mainstream camp has been claiming "presidential interference in party affairs" ahead of the recent convention, he said, "Some may point to this as interference in party affairs, but under current law and the party constitution and bylaws, the president, as a party member, is allowed to express opinions on the internal affairs of the affiliated party, so I hope there is no misunderstanding."