President Lee: "Vote Buying with Money in Economic Group Elections Must Be Punished"

Lee: "Positions with economic interests are bought with money"

Raises issue of "no legal basis for punishment"

Orders Ministry of Justice to review legislation

"Instructs to limit the scope so it is not too broad"

President Lee Jae-myung has ordered a review of institutional reforms to enable the punishment of so-called 'vote-buying' practices, in which votes are bought and sold with money during the process of electing representatives in private economic associations and similar groups. President Lee's directive is based on the concern that, unlike public official elections or certain commissioned elections such as those for agricultural cooperatives, there is no adequate legal basis for directly punishing individuals who exchange money in general private association elections. However, to prevent excessive infringement on the autonomy of private organizations, the government will consider limiting the scope of punishment to organizations that hold economic interests or are above a certain size.

President Lee Jae-myung is speaking at the Cabinet meeting held at the Blue House on the 29th. 2026.9.29 Yonhap News Agency

During the Cabinet meeting held at the Blue House on the 29th, while discussing reform measures for agricultural cooperatives, President Lee raised the issue of vote-buying with money in private association elections, stating that "this is a matter currently being reviewed by the Blue House Secretariat." President Lee pointed out, "In any type of election where there is authority over finances or economic interests, there are often cases where votes are bought and sold through the exchange of money or economic benefits," and added, "Except for the agricultural cooperatives, there is no legal basis for punishing money-for-votes deals in ordinary elections."

President Lee especially highlighted concerns about the fairness of private association elections involving economic interests. He stated, "It is a very bad practice that must be eradicated when representatives who are delegated authority in any social or private organization are elected by exchanging money and buying votes," and added, "Even when vote-buying is clearly visible, nothing can be done. This needs to be rectified."

President Lee made it clear that while the state should not intervene broadly in all private association elections, a different approach is needed in cases where an organization holds considerable assets or the authority of the representative is large enough to create economic incentives for pursuing a position through the use of money.

He remarked, "There are quite a few cases where accumulated assets amount to tens of billions of won," and questioned, "Wouldn't this be the case for private economic associations, for example?" He continued, "Hold that position, and there are certain interests to be had. That's why votes are bought with money," pointing out, "There are many opportunities to obtain illicit gains, be it through salaries or transactions." On the other hand, regarding friendship groups and other organizations without significant assets or interests, he explained, "When money is exchanged to buy votes, it is because there are interests at stake."

However, President Lee also acknowledged concerns that such reforms could lead to excessive government intervention in private associations, noting, "We need reasonable criteria such as minimum size or assets," and instructing, "Please ensure the review is not too broad in scope."

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