May 14, 2025
SEOUL – Before a single vote is cast in South Korea’s 2025 presidential election, the first battle is already underway: to raise campaign funding. However, that amount must not exceed certain limits set by South Korean law.
According to the National Election Commission, each of the candidates for South Korea’s upcoming 21st presidential election will be allowed to spend up to 58.8 billion won ($41.3 million) on their campaign.
The NEC said that in Article 121 of the Public Official Election Act, the cap is calculated by multiplying South Korea’s total population as of Feb. 28 by 950 won. Then, adjusting for the consumer price index, the election expense limit calculation ratio — 13.9 percent for this election — is applied, and total allowances and industrial accident insurance premiums for campaign staff are factored in.
So, how much might each candidate end up spending?
To begin with, registering as a presidential candidate requires a mandatory deposit of 300 million won, paid to the candidate’s local chapter of the NEC.
Once the official campaign period begins — May 12 to June 2 this year — substantial expenses are incurred for promotional materials, campaign vehicles, operations of campaign offices and advertisements. Any costs incurred before this official campaign period must be paid by the individual, though not exceeding the 58.8 billion spending cap.
To ensure fairness among the candidates, the NEC imposes a cap on campaign expenditures, limiting spending to the designated maximum. This year’s cap of 58.8 billion won marks an increase of some 7.5 billion won compared to the 2022 presidential race, which had a cap of 51.3 billion won.
However, candidates are not required to shoulder the entire cost themselves.
Under current rules, presidential candidates can have their full campaign expenses reimbursed by the state if they either win or secure more than 15 percent of the vote. Those earning between 10 and 15 percent are eligible for 50 percent reimbursement. Any expense that is not properly reported or exceeds market prices without valid justification will not be covered.
In the previous election in 2022, then-candidate Yoon Suk Yeol of the People Power Party spent 42.5 billion won, while his Democratic Party rival Lee Jae-myung spent 48.7 billion won. Third-party candidates spent far less — Ahn Cheol-soo (7.1 billion won) and Sim Sang-jung (3.2 billion won) — but faced greater burdens due to the receipt of public subsidies depending on what percent of the vote they received.
According to the NEC, a combined total of 421 billion won was spent on the 2022 election. The largest portion — 266 billion won — was allocated to voting and ballot-counting operations, including setting up facilities and hiring the necessary workforce. Another 108 billion won was used to reimburse presidential candidates.
The remaining 46.5 billion won was distributed to political parties as public subsidies, calculated by multiplying the number of eligible voters who are members of each party by 800 won. This amount was then allocated based on each party’s number of parliamentary seats and share of the vote.
With this election’s record-high campaign spending cap of 58.8 billion won per campaign, South Korea’s June 3 presidential race has turned political fundraising into an early test of strength, amplified by digital platforms and social media.
Within hours of launching their respective donation drives, Democratic Party of Korea front-runner and former chair, Rep. Lee Jae-myung, and People Power Party presidential hopeful and former chair, Han Dong-hoon, each hit the legal fundraising ceiling — 2.94 billion won according to Article 12 of the Political Funds Act — earlier this month.
Both Lee and Han reached the legal individual fundraising cap of 2.94 billion won in less than a day, with Lee clocking in at 23 hours April 16 and Han coming in under 12 hours April 21. Lee attracted over 63,000 contributors, 99 percent of whom small donors of less than 100,000 won each. Han drew 35,038 donors, with an average contribution of 84,000 won, 93.9 percent of which were small donations.
Individuals can donate up to 10 million won per person and 5 million won per donation.
This fundraising frenzy, like the release of high-demand concert tickets, led supporters to share screenshots of their donations and upload them on social media with posts declaring: “I donated before it (the fundraising) was over.”
Those in the legal circle say that political donations are fast becoming a litmus test for public enthusiasm. In 2012, then-Democratic Party candidate Moon Jae-in set the previous record at 2.89 billion won. In 2022, People Power Party candidate Yoon and Democratic Party candidate Lee each raised around 2.5 billion in 2022.
But such political donations also reflect deeper structural imbalances. Public campaign subsidies — 520 billion won in total — are largely divided according to party size and parliamentary presence, heavily favoring the two largest parties, the liberal Democratic Party and the conservative People Power Party. In 2022, the Democratic Party and People Power Party received 224 billion and 194 billion won, respectively, leaving minor party candidates with relatively little state support.