Lee urges Democratic Party to roll back candidate deposit hike, citing burden on youth

"It is regrettable to hear that candidate deposit fees have been sharply raised for this election, and that youth candidates in particular are struggling because their deposits have increased several times over."

President Lee Jae Myung made the remarks Sunday on X, formerly Twitter, in connection with the deposit fees that candidates must pay the Democratic Party of Korea to run in its national convention. "Not being able to run for office because of money is not only sad — it also enlarges the incentive for corruption," he said.

Lee recalled that when he served as party leader he had tried to introduce a publicly funded intraparty election system but ended up sharply reducing deposit amounts instead, after opponents argued that higher fees were needed to prevent a flood of candidates. He then suggested the party revisit the issue. "Sitting Assembly members at least have their salaries and political funds, so the burden is relatively lighter for them — but for those outside the Assembly, and especially for young candidates, the burden will be significant," he said. "The party's fiscal situation is not dire, and there is both a real hardship for young people and a need for policy consideration, so I would ask that you consider, if possible, restoring the deposits to their previous level."

Lee also expressed sympathy for youth candidates, saying that as a sunbae — a senior who had overcome the barriers of entrenched interests through countless attempts while carrying the hardship of having no money in his youth — he wanted to at least help promote their fundraising accounts. He added: "Some may point to this as interference in party affairs, but under current law and the party constitution and rules, the president, as a party member, is permitted to express opinions on the affairs of his party — I hope there will be no misunderstanding."

Lee's remarks align with the position of Kim Min-seok, a former prime minister running for the party leadership. Kim had raised the deposit hike on Thursday, the first day of candidate registration, and repeated his criticism Sunday. "I simply cannot understand this. Youth and disabled candidates must pay 30 million won more for the party leader race and 17.5 million won more for the supreme council member race than they did under Lee Jae Myung's leadership," he said.

Under the rules for this Democratic Party convention, candidates for party leader and supreme council member must pay deposits of 100 million won ($68,000) and 50 million won, respectively. Non-incumbent youth candidates receive a 50 percent reduction. When Lee led the party in 2024, the deposits stood at 40 million won for the party leader race and 15 million won for the supreme council member race, with youth candidates and others also receiving a 50 percent discount at the time.