Former President Yoon Suk Yeol. [Newsis]
Former President Yoon Suk Yeol. [Newsis]

People Power Party Supreme Council member Kim Jae-won said the party would have no trouble repaying 39.7 billion won ($29.6 million) in election cost reimbursements even if former President Yoon Suk Yeol's conviction is finalized — and that selling the party's central headquarters would not be necessary.

Kim made the remarks in a Thursday night interview on MBC Radio's "Jo Seung-won's News High Kick," after Yoon received a sentence Tuesday in his appeals trial that would void his election victory — one year and six months in prison, suspended for three years. The ruling renewed public attention to whether the party would have to return the 39.7 billion won in campaign expenses it had been reimbursed for the 20th presidential election. Kim acknowledged the sum was "frankly a difficult amount for the party to absorb."

"If Yoon's conviction is finalized, the obligation to return the state subsidy arises," Kim said. "To raise the 39.7 billion won, we will use not only the central headquarters but also regional offices as collateral, and we will run a fundraising campaign."

Kim added that the party has a history of borrowing against regional offices. "We took out loans using regional offices as collateral during general elections and presidential elections — this is nothing new," he said. "Those regional offices were once buildings on the outskirts, but the areas around them have since become urban centers and real estate prices have risen."

Meanwhile, according to the National Election Commission, the People Power Party's total assets as of June 28 stood at 138.41 billion won. Of that, cash and deposits amounted to 19.01 billion won, land to 75.61 billion won, and buildings to 16.01 billion won.

The declared value of the party's central headquarters in Yeouido was 53.92 billion won.


yeonjoo7@heraldcorp.com