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| The fundraising website of Democratic Party of Korea presidential candidate Moon Jae-in. Moon's camp raised 10 billion won in only one hour after the site opened, Wednesday, and closed fundraising. / Yonhap |
By Kim Rahn
Moon Jae-in, the presidential candidate of the largest Democratic Party of Korea (DPK), raised 32.9 billion won ($28.8 million) from the public in only one hour after his fundraising website opened, Wednesday.
His camp opened the online fundraiser at 9 a.m. Right after the launch, donors rushed to the site, prompting a temporary shutdown.
After 61 minutes, the camp had collected 32.9 billion won from 4,488 people, far surpassing its 10 billion won goal. So the camp stopped fundraising, although an additional 6,000 people pledged to send money. "The fundraising was closed thanks to your support," the camp said on its website.
A campaigner said, "The public response was more enthusiastic than we expected. We never expected to collect the targeted amount this quickly."
The camp said the public fundraising is aimed at preparing election campaign funds only with the help from people who wish for a fair and just country, and severing corrupt ties between politics and business. In the past, conglomerates used to provide illegal political funds to presidential candidates and received business favors in return after the candidates became president.
"It also means each citizen is an agent of a regime change and shareholder of a new Korea," the official said.
The money will be repaid to the "investors," with principal and interest at an annual interest rate of 3.6 percent, which is higher than the average rate offered by major banks, on July 19 when the election watchdog reimburses presidential candidates' campaign costs. The campaign expenses of any candidate who gains more than 15 percent of the vote are fully covered by a national subsidy.
