Preliminary Candidate Registration Begins for Mayoral, Gubernatorial and Superintendent Elections

= Preliminary candidate registration also opens for by and re-elections for National Assembly Members to be held on the same day as local elections =

The National Election Commission (NEC) of the Republic of Korea announced that it will begin registration of preliminary candidates on February 13 for mayoral, gubernatorial and superintendent elections that will take place as part of the 7th nationwide simultaneous local elections.

Preliminary candidate registration will begin on the same day for by and re-elections for National Assembly Members that are being held together with local elections.

To register as a preliminary candidate, the following should be submitted to the relevant local Election Commission:

• Documents that prove the person is eligible to run in the relevant election including a certificate of residence (excluding those running in by and re-elections for National Assembly) and a family relation certificate. 

• Criminal records.

• Academic records.

• Deposit that equals 20% of the final candidate registration deposit. This equals 10 million Korean won ($9,200 USD) for mayoral, gubernatorial and superintendent elections and 3 million Korean won ($2,800 USD) for by and re-elections for National Assembly Members.

Criminal and academic records submitted by preliminary candidates can be found on the NEC homepage (http://info.nec.go.kr) or on the Election Information mobile application.

In addition, a person who is restricted from running in this election because of their current position, such as National Assembly member or a public official, must resign from their position before they submit their application as a preliminary candidate.  

For the campaigns of preliminary candidates, candidates may:

• Establish a campaign office.

• Distribute election campaign cards.

• Use campaign sashes or markers.

• Make direct campaign phone calls.

• Send campaign material to a certain number of households within the constituency (maximum 10% of households).

Preliminary candidates for mayoral, gubernatorial and superintendent elections can publish and sell copies of their campaign pledges in the normal manner, and preliminary candidates in by and re-elections for National Assembly members can set up a Political Fundraising Association (PFA) to raise campaign expenses up to 150 million Korean won ($140,000 USD). 

If you have any questions regarding the requirements for preliminary candidate registration or allowed types of campaigning, you can call 1390 or contact your local election commission.