PPP presidential hopefuls wage costly text messaging battle

Posters for People Power Party presidential contenders Kim Moon-soo, left, and Han Dong-hoon are seen in the hallway of the National Assembly building in Seoul, Wednesday. Korea Times photo by Ko Young-kwon

Presidential hopefuls in the People Power Party (PPP) are pouring massive amounts of money into text message campaigns as the June 3 election draws near — turning the race into a costly prelude to the main contest.

With no regional campaign tours scheduled, candidates have increasingly relied on mass messaging to reach the PPP’s 760,000-member electoral body.

Though each text message costs only about 10 won, the costs quickly add up: a single text to all party members costs around 7.6 million won ($5,600), while multimedia messages with images cost more than 60 won each, potentially running campaigns into the tens of millions of won per round of outreach.

Among the contenders, former PPP leader Han Dong-hoon has been the most aggressive. From April 23 through Tuesday, his campaign sent over 20 messages to party members, at least 12 of which were image-based messages. His team spent close to 1 billion won ($730,000), including nearly 200 million won in one day, before the runoff vote.

Campaign funds, including donations, can be used for these communications. Han previously made headlines for raising the maximum 2.94 billion won ($2.15 million) in donations within just 11 hours.

Multimedia messaging service campaign messages sent by Kim Moon-soo, right, former labor minister, and Han Dong-hoon, former PPP leader, who are both running in the People Power Party's presidential primary. Courtesy of Kim Moon-soo and Han Dong-hoon campaigns

By contrast, former Labor Minister Kim Moon-soo sent nine messages over the same period, most of which were longer text messages with links to YouTube or news articles. His campaign likely spent around 200 million to 300 million won. Hong Joon-pyo and Ahn Cheol-soo, who both failed to reach the final round, sent approximately 10 and four messages, respectively.

Despite the differences in scale, the message content has been similar across the board, outlining how to vote and highlighting favorable poll results. At times, campaigns have drawn criticism for selectively presenting data: one of Han’s multimdia messages, for instance, prominently displayed “No. 1” in large font while minimizing the note that it referred only to PPP candidates.

Observers offer mixed interpretations of the messaging strategies. Some say Han’s team is reinforcing momentum, while others see it as a push to overcome lukewarm support among core party members. Meanwhile, Kim’s more restrained approach could reflect either confidence in party support or limitations in fundraising.

Any unused donations after the race typically revert to the party, leading some campaigns to ramp up spending before the contest concludes.

This article from the Hankook Ilbo, the sister publication of The Korea Times, is translated by a generative AI and edited by The Korea Times.