Money matters in party-centered politics: campaign spending in Korean congressional elections

Abstract

In this article we focus on the importance of campaign expenditures to electoral outcomes in the culture of Korea where party centralized leadership and regional linkages to political parties have cultivated party-centered politics. Using the candidate's vote share from the 2000 Korean National Assembly elections as the dependent variable, we find that both incumbent and challenger spending have a significant effect on electoral outcomes. As in the case of US congressional elections, challenger spending appears to have a greater effect upon a Korean candidate's vote share than incumbent spending. We also find that, while region is often a critical explanatory factor when examining Korean elections, its importance differs a great deal across the regions of Korea.