NEC Announces Campaign Spending Limit for Candidates in the 7th Local Elections

= Gyeonggi gubernatorial election 4.17 billion Korean won ($3.8 million USD), Seoul mayoral election 3.49 billion Korean won ($3.1 million USD) =

The National Election Commission (NEC) set the campaign spending limit for candidates during the campaign period for the 7th nationwide simultaneous local elections to be held on June 13.

For mayoral and gubernatorial elections, the Gyeonggi gubernatorial election will have the highest limit at 4.17 billion Korean won ($3.8 million USD) followed by the Seoul mayoral election at 3.49 billion Korean won ($3.1 million USD). The lowest limit will be in the Sejong mayoral election, which will stand at 295 million Korean won ($270,000 USD).

The average campaign expense limit for mayoral and gubernatorial elections is 1.41 billion Korean won ($1.3 million USD), down by 50 million won from the 1.46 billion Korean won average set during the 6th nationwide simultaneous local elections. 

This is because the National Consumer Price Index, which is a part of the calculation of the campaign spending limit, fell from 7.9% to 3.7% compared with the 6th nationwide simultaneous local elections.

The criteria for campaign spending limits for Superintendent’s elections are the same as those for mayoral and gubernatorial elections, therefore the limit is the same.

The average campaign expense limit for elections for heads of local governments will be 150 million Korean won ($140,000 USD), with the highest limit set at 389 million Korean won ($350,000 USD) in Suwon city and the lowest set at 9.9 million Korean won ($9,100 USD) in Ulleung County.

For other elections, the average campaign spending limits are set as follows: 

• Constituency members of Si/Do Councils 49 million Korean won ($45,000 USD)

• Constituency members of Gu/Si/Gun Councils 41 million Korean won ($37,000 USD)

• Proportional representation members of Si/Do Councils 200 million Korean won ($184,000 USD)

• Proportional representation members of Gu/Si/Gun Councils 48 million Korean won ($44,000 USD)

However, in the case that the election districts are changed by the delimitation of boundaries for Si/Do council or Gu/Si/Gun councils then the campaign expense limit will be recalculated and announced.

According to the principles of equal opportunity for all candidates and publically-funded elections, if a candidate is elected or receives more than 15% of valid votes then all campaign expenses are reimbursed that are within the campaign expense limit. Additionally, if a candidate receives between 10 and 15% of valid votes then half of the total campaign spending is reimbursed to the candidate.  

In the case of elections for proportional representation members, if a single candidate for that party is elected then all campaign expenses are reimbursed.

However, campaign expenses used by preliminary candidates, expenses that exceed the normal market price limit without justifiable reason, or expenses that are either not reported or falsely reported in the final account report at the end of the election are not reimbursed. 

In order to prevent fraudulent campaign expenses, including inflating campaign costs, the NEC plans to not reimburse campaign expenses when objective evidence such as photographs are not submitted without good reason in addition to documents such as receipts and contracts related to campaign spending.

In addition, during the election period, the NEC plans to establish a political fund disclosure system on its website and strengthen transparency by allowing candidates to autonomously disclose the income and expenditure of campaign expenses.