Election and Other Subsidies Totalling 41.8 Billion Won ($36 million USD) Given to 7 Parties

39.9 billion won in election subsidies, 1.2 billion won in female candidate nomination subsidies, 200 million in disabled candidate nomination subsidies 

The National Election Commission (NEC) of the Republic of Korea provided subsidies for political parties on March 28, 2016, ahead of the 20th National Assembly elections. This included 39.9 billion Korean won ($35 million USD) in election subsidies to six parties, 1.2 billion Korean won ($1 million USD) in female candidate nomination subsidies to three parties, and 200 million ($170,000) in Korean won disabled candidate nomination to two parties. 

Election subsidies have been divided by political party, with 16.3 billion Korean won ($14 million USD) going to the Saenuri Party, 14 billion Korean won ($12 million USD) to The Minjoo Party of Korea, 7.3 billion Korean won ($6 million USD) to the People’s Party, 2.1 billion Korean won ($1.8 million USD) to the Justice Party and 300 million Korean won going to both the Christian Libertarian Party and the Minjoo Party respectively. 

Detailed Election Subsidies

Unit: Korean Won

* US dollar amounts in brackets are approximate.

The total amount distributed to parties is calculated by multiplying the total number of voters during in the 19th National Assembly elections by the unit price of national subsidies, which this year is 994 Korean won ($0.8 USD). This is then distributed to parties by the ratio regulated in the Political Funds Act. 

Subsidies are given to the political parties holding a negotiation group in the National Assembly at the time of disbursement, while each of the political parties having five or more but less than 20 seats in the National Assembly is entitled to 5% of the total amount of the subsidies. Parties who have less than five or no seats in the National Assembly but meet certain other criteria can be eligible for 2% of the total amount of the subsidies.

After distributing based on the aforementioned criteria, half of the remaining subsidy goes out to the political parties holding a seat in the National Assembly according to the ratio of the number of the seats gained by each party. The other half is disbursed based on the ratio of the number of votes obtained by political parties in the 19th National Assembly election. 

Female candidate nomination subsidies are distributed to political parties that nominate women candidates for elections for constituency members of the National Assembly, and in this election nine parties nominated a total of 90 female candidates. The parties that met the requirements included the Saenuri Party, which received 600 million Korean won ($520,000 USD), the Minjoo Party of Korea, which received 550 million Korean won ($470,000 USD), and the People’s Union Party, which received 90 million won ($78,000 USD). 

The total amount of female candidate nomination subsidies are calculated by multiplying the number of eligible voters during the 19th National Assembly elections by 100 Korean won ($0.08 USD). This is then distributed according to the number of seats the party has in the National Assembly at the time, the percentage of female candidates nominated and the number of votes the party received in the 19th National Assembly elections. 

Parties that nominated female candidates to 30% of constituencies or more nationwide are entitled to the full amount of any of the subsidies given by the NEC. Those parties that nominate female candidates to between 15 and 30% of constituencies are eligible for 50% of the subsidies, and parties that nominate female candidates in between 5 and 15% of constituencies are eligible for 30%. 

In this election, three parties nominated female candidates to between 5 and 15% of constituencies, and therefore have been distributed 30% of the subsidies. 

In addition, candidates with disabilities nomination subsidies were distributed to parties that nominated disabled candidates for elections for constituency members of the National Assembly. The Saenuri Party received just over 100 million Korean won ($87,000 USD) and the Minjoo Party of Korea received nearly 200 million Korean won ($170,000 USD).

The total amount of candidates with disabilities nomination subsidies are calculated by multiplying the number of eligible voters during the 19th National Assembly elections by 20 Korean won ($0.01 USD). This is then distributed according to the number of seats the party has in the National Assembly at the time, the percentage of candidates with disabilities nominated and the number of votes the party received in the 19th National Assembly elections.