Accused of spending 4.9 million won over election limit... Complaint filed against Jeju provincial council candidate and one other

【Financial News, Jeju — Reporter Jeong Yong-bok】 A candidate in the Jeju provincial council election was reported to police on suspicion of spending about 4.9 million won above the legal limit in the June 3 local elections. A campaign worker was also reported to police on suspicion of conspiring to underreport and falsify the election expense accounting report.
On the 28th, the Jeju Special Self-Governing Province Election Commission said it had filed a police complaint the previous day against two people, candidate A and campaign worker B, on suspicion of violating the Public Official Election Act and the Political Funds Act in connection with the Jeju Provincial Council election in the 9th nationwide simultaneous local elections.
The commission determined that A, who also served as the accounting officer, was suspected of spending about 4.9 million won more than the statutory election spending limit. The excess spending amounted to 9.8% of that limit.
A is also suspected of classifying about 2.1 million won spent on campaigning as political funds other than election expenses and reporting it as such. B was reported to police on suspicion of conspiring to understate A’s election expenses and make false entries.
Election expenses are money spent by a candidate for campaigning, and candidates must stay within the statutory limit set for each election. After an election, the candidate’s camp must report its spending and supporting documents to the election commission with jurisdiction.
The issues in this case are whether A actually exceeded the election spending limit and whether A classified campaign-related expenses as other political funds and reported them that way. Whether B colluded in the financial reporting process is also under review.
Article 258 of the Public Official Election Act stipulates that anyone who spends at least 0.5% more than the election spending limit—the equivalent of one two-hundredth of the limit—may be punished by up to five years in prison or a fine of up to 20 million won.
Article 49 of the Political Funds Act likewise stipulates that an accounting officer who, without justifiable cause, makes false entries about election expenses or omits income or expenditures to conceal them may be punished by up to five years in prison or a fine of up to 20 million won.
The 9.8% excess spending rate cited by the election commission for A is above the 0.5% threshold for punishment under the Public Official Election Act. However, whether the amount in question and the contents of the financial report constitute legal violations must be determined through an investigation and judicial proceedings. The complaint marks the stage at which the commission, based on its investigation, found grounds to suspect a crime and requested a police investigation.
A Jeju election commission official said, “Spending beyond the election spending limit or omitting election expenses from financial reports is a serious illegal act that undermines the fairness of elections,” adding, “We will respond firmly to illegal acts related to political funds.”


[email protected] Jeong Yong-bok Reporter