Average Assets per Candidate for June 3 Local Elections: 900 Million Won for 7,829 Candidates

A Proportional Local Council Candidate Holds Assets of Over 100 Billion Won
Oh Se-hoon Tops Metropolitan Head Candidates with 7 Billion Won

The average assets of the 7,569 candidates who completed registration for the 6·3 9th National Simultaneous Local Elections were calculated to be approximately 900 million won. The candidate who reported the largest amount of assets was Park Geun-ryang, a People Power Party candidate for Tongyeong City Council in South Gyeongsang Province. Among metropolitan mayoral candidates, Oh Se-hoon, the People Power Party candidate for Seoul mayor, ranked first with assets in the 7 billion won range.

Election officials are processing candidate registrations at the Seoul Metropolitan Election Commission in Jongno-gu, Seoul, on the 14th, the registration day for the 9th National Simultaneous Local Elections. Photo by Yonhap News

According to the National Election Commission on May 16, the average assets per candidate for metropolitan mayor, basic mayor, metropolitan council, and basic council positions amounted to 895.14 million won.

The candidate with the most assets was Park Geun-ryang, a People Power Party candidate for proportional representation in Tongyeong City Council, South Gyeongsang Province, who reported 104.92895 billion won as of the end of last year. Park, who also serves as a director of the Gyeongnam Sports Council and vice president of the Tongyeong Disabled Sports Council, paid taxes totaling 24.17588 billion won, an overwhelming amount compared to other candidates.

The second-largest assets were reported by independent candidate Kim Jae-seon, who is running for Jeongeup mayor in North Jeolla Province, at 50.01953 billion won.

He was followed by independent candidate Kim Hoi-soo, running for Hwasun County mayor in South Jeolla Province (26.11523 billion won), People Power Party candidate Park Young-seo, running for Mungyeong City Council in North Gyeongsang Province (24.39474 billion won), and People Power Party candidate Ahn Gyo-jae, running for Suwon mayor in Gyeonggi Province (20.15959 billion won).

A total of 21 candidates were found to possess assets exceeding 10 billion won. While there were no metropolitan mayoral candidates with assets over 10 billion won, there were six basic mayoral candidates, ten metropolitan council candidates, four basic council candidates, and one proportional metropolitan council candidate in this category.

The average assets of metropolitan mayoral candidates amounted to 1.87909 billion won, roughly double the overall average. By candidate, Oh Se-hoon reported the most with 7.2896 billion won. He was followed by People Power Party candidate Moon Sung-yu, running for Jeju Governor (5.994742 billion won), People Power Party candidate Park Hyung-joon, running for Busan mayor (5.529921 billion won), People Power Party candidate Yang Jeong-mu, running for North Jeolla Province Governor (5.12875 billion won), and Innovation Party candidate Jeong I-han, running for Busan mayor (4.97151 billion won).

The reported assets of Jung Won-oh, Democratic Party candidate for Seoul mayor, were 1.82389 billion won.

The lowest reported assets were from Democratic Party candidate Kim Hyo-sook, running for Sejong City Council, who reported only debt, totaling 2.97076 billion won. Kim, a former regional journalist, previously served as floor leader in the Sejong City Council.

The average tax paid per candidate was 51.73 million won. Among metropolitan mayoral candidates, independent Kim Kwan-young, running for North Jeolla Province Governor, paid the most taxes (687.87 million won), followed by People Power Party candidate Park Hyung-joon, running for Busan mayor (631.11 million won). Oh Se-hoon's tax payment was 366.382 million won, ranking him sixth among the top tax payers.

Records showed that 1,031 candidates had a history of tax arrears, including five metropolitan mayoral candidates, 65 basic mayoral candidates, and 961 metropolitan or basic council candidates. This means 13.6% of all candidates had a record of unpaid taxes.

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