Candidate Registration Opens for South Korea's Local Elections and Parliamentary By-Elections

SEOUL, May 14 (Yonhap) -- Candidate registration opened Thursday for the upcoming local elections and parliamentary by-elections, widely seen as a key test of public sentiment toward President Lee Jae Myung's first year in office. According to the National Election Commission (NEC), prospective candidates can register between 9 a.m. and 6 p.m. on Thursday and Friday. Official campaigning will begin next Thursday and last 13 days until the eve of the June 3 elections, with only limited forms of electioneering permitted before the official campaign period begins. Up for grabs in the local elections are mayor and governor seats in 16 metropolitan cities and provinces, along with superintendents of education and chiefs of smaller administrative units. Among the most closely followed races are the mayoral contests in Seoul and the traditional conservative strongholds of Daegu and Busan. In Seoul, incumbent Mayor Oh Se-hoon of the main opposition People Power Party (PPP) will face candidate Chong Won-o of the ruling Democratic Party (DP), while in Busan, Park Heong-joon, the incumbent mayor of Busan seeking a third term, will run against former Oceans Minister Chun Jae-soo from the DP. This year's elections are drawing greater attention as 14 National Assembly seats are also at stake in parliamentary by-elections, including the high-profile race in Busan's Buk-A constituency, where former PPP leader Han Dong-hoon is running as an independent. Han will compete against Ha Jung-woo, former presidential secretary for artificial intelligence (AI) policy and future planning, running on the DP's ticket, and former PPP lawmaker Park Min-shik. Early voting is set for two days from May 29.