'Gyeonggi Province Governor Candidacy Declaration' Kang Yong-seok's Donations Surpass 1.97 Billion Won in One Day

Attorney Kang Yong-seok, a cast member of the YouTube channel Garosero Research Institute, held a press conference at Seryu Station in Suwon, Gyeonggi Province on the afternoon of the 4th, declaring his candidacy for the Gyeonggi Province governor election. / Photo by Yonhap News

[Asia Economy Reporter Na Ye-eun] Recently, Kang Yong-seok, a lawyer from the YouTube channel 'Garosero Research Institute' (Gaseyeon), who declared his candidacy for Governor of Gyeonggi Province, failed to join the People Power Party, but it has been reported that the total amount of donations surpassed 1.97 billion KRW just one day after fundraising began.

According to Kang's election camp on the 8th, as of 2 p.m. that day, Kang's donations exceeded 1.97 billion KRW. This was only 24 hours after the fundraising broadcast started at the same time the previous day.

On the same day, Kang also shared the fundraising news through his Facebook, saying, "Based on the support and encouragement you have sent, I will definitely be elected Governor of Gyeonggi Province and correct the arrogance and tyranny of the reckless People Power Party and Lee Jun-seok."

The camp released a press statement at 8 p.m. the previous day, stating, "Donations surpassed 1.3 billion KRW within 6 hours."

They added, "Such a live broadcast election fundraising event is the first of its kind in the history of Korean politics," and mentioned, "During the 20th presidential election period, former Democratic Party candidate Lee Jae-myung raised 900 million KRW in one day, and former leader Lee Nak-yon raised 800 million KRW."

Earlier, on the 4th, Kang applied to join the People Power Party. He hoped to regain party membership 12 years after being expelled from the Grand National Party (the predecessor of the People Power Party) due to derogatory remarks against a student aspiring to be an announcer in 2010.

In July 2010, a media outlet reported that Kang made derogatory and sexually harassing remarks toward a female student aspiring to be an announcer during a meal with about 20 university students who attended the 2nd National Assembly Speaker's Cup National University Student Debate Competition.

At the time, Kang denied the allegations, saying, "I will stake my political life to reveal the truth to the end and take all legal measures," but the Grand National Party imposed disciplinary action by expelling him.

Meanwhile, on the 7th, the People Power Party's Supreme Council held a meeting at the National Assembly to review Kang's application and ultimately decided to reject it. After the meeting, Lee Jun-seok, the party leader, told reporters, "We voted to ask the Supreme Council members' opinions on the matter, and it was rejected."

In response, Kang protested, calling it an "unacceptable result," and filed a cancellation lawsuit against the party's rejection of his membership. He claimed, "I question whether there is a membership screening process and whether the 2 million party members undergo such screening. I am not asking for a nomination; I only want to participate in the primary election, but this is to block my participation in the primary."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.