People Power Party candidate Lee Jung-hyun, who ran for mayor of the proposed South Jeolla-Gwangju integrated special city — deep in Democratic Party territory — will receive reimbursement for half his campaign expenses. The remaining losing candidates fell below the 10 percent threshold required for any reimbursement: Progressive Party candidate Lee Jong-wook received 3.71 percent, Justice Party candidate Kang Eun-mi 3.86 percent, and independent Kim Gwang-man 1.73 percent.
As of 4:30 a.m. Thursday, with 99.75 percent of ballots counted, Lee had secured 11.67 percent of the vote, placing second among the five candidates on the ballot.
The National Election Commission will reimburse campaign expenditures for the integrated special city mayoral race up to a spending cap of approximately 1.937 billion won ($1.4 million), with the amount determined by each candidate's vote share.
Candidates or their parties that receive 15 percent or more of valid votes are entitled to full reimbursement of campaign costs; those who receive between 10 and 15 percent receive half.
Lee previously served as a National Assembly member for South Jeolla Province — representing Suncheon and Gokseong in the 19th Assembly and Suncheon in the 20th — and ran for South Jeolla governor four years ago, receiving 18.81 percent of the vote.
In that same election cycle, fellow People Power Party candidate Ju Gi-hwan also surpassed the full reimbursement threshold in the Gwangju mayoral race, receiving 15.90 percent.
sij@heraldcorp.com
