"Recruiting You for 99,000 Won"... Lee Jun-seok Tests 100% Online Candidate Nominations

[Financial News] Reform Party leader Lee Jun-seok, ahead of the June 3 Local Elections, declared a "99,000 won candidacy" nomination experiment, saying that "Korean politics is broken."
A 30-second YouTube Shorts video that Lee recently posted on his Instagram, carrying the message that "In the Reform Party, you can run in local elections if you have 99,000 won," has been drawing attention. As of the 13th, it has surpassed 2 million views.
Lee stated, "From now on, over the next 100 days, I will recruit 4,000 politicians," emphasizing again that "Korean politics is broken."
He went on to say, "There are many politicians who don’t even know where to buy Microsoft Office (MS Office) and who cannot properly use Artificial Intelligence (AI) tools," adding, "They think that as long as they shout, they are doing a good job, and they treat criminal records like badges of honor," describing the current state of Korean politics.
Lee encouraged viewers by saying, "You, who are watching this video, will certainly do politics better," and, "Now it is your turn to take on the challenge."
He continued, "If you want to change the politics of the Republic of Korea (South Korea) together with the Reform Party in 2026, please leave a comment. Your seat is right here," announcing that he would "recruit 4,000 politicians for 99,000 won."


In general, under the structure of local elections, running for a basic council seat costs around 30 million won, and for a metropolitan council seat more than 50 million won. However, the Reform Party has decided to completely waive party screening fees and deposits and to conduct the nomination process 100% online, which has made it possible to propose the 99,000 won scheme.

Netizens who watched the video reacted by saying things like, "A cool and smart plan," "Can even an elementary school student run?", "Truly fresh and original," and "Is it my turn to step up?"
Previously, Lee also criticized the existing nomination system on his Facebook account, saying, "Until now, running in elections has been something far out of reach for ordinary people," and, "Only those with money, time, and connections have remained in politics."

In last year’s presidential election as well, Lee ran his campaign with 2.836 billion won, about one-twentieth of the amounts spent by then-presidential candidate President Lee Jae-myung of South Korea (5.35 billion won) and lawmaker Kim Moon-soo (4.5 billion won).

y27k@fnnews.com Seo Yoon-kyung Reporter