Controversy in the political sphere continues surrounding the 1.1 billion won in state party subsidies for the Basic Income Party.
The controversy was ignited by Representative Na Kyung-won.
Representative Na claimed, "She is holding out because she is afraid of losing 1.1 billion won," adding, "This is an obvious loss to the national treasury."
In response, Oh Jun-ho, former leader of the Basic Income Party, stepped forward to refute the claim.
He argued that if Representative Yong Hye-in steps down, a substantial portion of the subsidy received by the Basic Income Party would actually go to the People Power Party.
The SBS Fact Check team looked into the facts behind the Basic Income Party subsidy controversy.
First, we examined the current party subsidies. In the third quarter of this year, total party subsidies amounted to about 13.41 billion won, of which about 280 million won was allocated to the Basic Income Party. Converted to an annual basis, this amounts to approximately 1.11 billion won.
It is true that the annual annualized amount of the Basic Income Party's subsidies mentioned in the media is about 1.1 billion won.
In the second quarter, the Basic Income Party's subsidy did not even exceed 10 million won. However, the situation changed after it won about 0.99%, or 267,299 votes, in the proportional representation election for metropolitan council members in the previous local elections. By exceeding the 0.5% vote threshold, which is one of the criteria for receiving party subsidies under the Political Funds Act, the party's subsidy increased significantly.
So, as former leader Oh Jun-ho claimed,
we calculated based on the Political Funds Act whether a significant portion of the subsidy received by the Basic Income Party would indeed go to the People Power Party if candidate Yong steps down.
Currently, the Basic Income Party has only one lawmaker, Representative Yong Hye-in.
If Representative Yong steps down from her parliamentary seat, the next candidate on the proportional representation list of the Democratic Alliance of Korea—the satellite party of the Democratic Party during the last general election—would succeed to the seat.
The next in line is Ko Jae-soon, former secretary-general of the Roh Moo-hyun Foundation, from the Democratic Party's quota.
In other words, the Basic Income Party would become an extra-parliamentary party with 0 seats, while the Democratic Party's seats would increase by 1 to 162.
The SBS Fact Check team recalculated party subsidies under the assumption that the Basic Income Party loses its seat and the Democratic Party gains one seat. Because the calculation formula for subsidies is very complex, we calibrated some results with assistance from the National Election Commission.
The results were as follows.
The subsidies allocated to the Basic Income Party would disappear, and that amount would be redistributed to other parties.
On an annual basis,
out of the approximately 1.11 billion won originally allocated to the Basic Income Party, an additional 430 million won was calculated to go to the People Power Party.
However,
the Democratic Party would benefit more than the People Power Party. About 550 million won of the Basic Income Party's share would go to the Democratic Party.
This is also an annualized figure.
The reason for this calculation is that
the total amount of state party subsidies is predetermined.
Under Article 25 of the Political Funds Act, party subsidies are determined by setting a unit price reflecting the number of eligible voters and inflation rate each year, based on which the overall subsidy amount is calculated. This predetermined total is then paid out in four quarterly installments.
To put it simply, the size of the pie is fixed first, and political parties divide it according to certain rules.
An increase in one party's share does not mean the state spends more money.
In any case,
former Basic Income Party leader Oh Jun-ho's statement that "if Representative Yong Hye-in steps down, a substantial portion of the subsidy the Basic Income Party received would go to the People Power Party" can be regarded as mostly true.
Then,
is Representative Na Kyung-won's criticism regarding a "loss to the national treasury" completely groundless?
Representative Na stated, "They created a satellite party, and candidate Yong Hye-in placed her name there and got elected on Democratic Party votes. What did she do after being elected? A sham expulsion show. Then she returned to the Basic Income Party and takes 1.1 billion won every year."
In other words,
looking at the overall context, her criticism appears to take issue with the process through which the subsidy was secured and whether the succession structure for the parliamentary seat was appropriate, rather than the subsidy amount itself.
There are complicated circumstances behind this. Ahead of the 22nd general election, the two major parties created "satellite parties" exclusively for proportional representation. Since the electoral system changed starting with the 21st general election, such expedient measures have become customary practice. The Democratic Party created the Democratic Alliance of Korea and distributed winning proportional slots to the New Progressive Alliance (including the Basic Income Party), the Progressive Party, and civil society. Candidate Yong Hye-in also joined the Democratic Alliance of Korea through the New Progressive Alliance's quota, received the number 6 spot on the proportional representation list, and succeeded in winning reelection. After the election, candidate Yong returned to the Basic Income Party. Proportional representation lawmakers lose their seats if they leave the party voluntarily, but retain their seats if expelled by the party.
This method involves getting elected using the platform of a major party, and then returning to the original party through a formal "expulsion procedure."
The problem arises afterward.
When a proportional representation lawmaker elected on a satellite party's list resigns, the seat does not return to the lawmaker's original party.
As mentioned earlier, the next in line is Ko Jae-soon, former secretary-general of the Roh Moo-hyun Foundation from the Democratic Party. This is why the moment Representative Yong Hye-in steps down, the Basic Income Party becomes an extra-parliamentary party with 0 seats.
Criticism has emerged that a structure was created where it is difficult for candidate Yong to step down from her parliamentary seat. On one hand, there is criticism of "privatization of parliamentary seats," while on the other hand, counterarguments claim it is an inevitable outcome created by the electoral system at the time.
While the claim of a "loss to the national treasury" is difficult to sustain purely in terms of numbers,
this "1.1 billion won subsidy controversy" implies another systemic problem in our political system that cannot be explained by numbers alone.
Ultimately, using the whereabouts of the 1.1 billion won as leverage, we may need to examine fundamental questions about why such calculations became possible around a single lawmaker, and further, why our electoral system created such a structure.
The reason criticisms are emerging from both the left and right is likely because they share this awareness of the problem.
The Justice Party demanded that President Lee Jae-myung withdraw the nomination, stating, "Appointing Representative Yong, who entered the National Assembly as a proportional representative of the Basic Income Party through a makeshift 'satellite party' intended to inflate major parties' seat counts, as a Cabinet member is effectively granting impunity to satellite party politics." The Justice Party, which did not join the Democratic Party-led proportional platform in the last general election, failed to secure a single seat and remains an extra-parliamentary party.
<References>
· Original Post: People Power Party Representative Na Kyung-won's Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/nakw1963
· Original Post: Former Basic Income Party Leader Oh Jun-ho's Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ohjunho.bip
· National Election Commission Press Release on Q3 2026 Party Subsidies: https://www.nec.go.kr/site/nec/ex/bbs/View.do?cbIdx=1090&bcIdx=328653
· Political Funds Act: https://www.law.go.kr/lsInfoP.do?lsId=001721&ancYnChk=0#0000
· Open National Assembly Information Portal (Party Seat Status): https://open.assembly.go.kr/portal/assm/assmPartyNegotiationPage.do
· National Election Commission, Written Response to Inquiry from SBS Fact Check Team, <Changes in Party Subsidies in Case Basic Income Party Loses 1 Seat and Democratic Party of Korea Gains 1 Seat>, September 1, 2026.
(Writer: Kim Hyo-jin, Intern: Kim Jung-won)
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