Preliminary Candidate Registration Begins for Heads of Local Governments and Si/Do and Gu/Si Council Elections

=In the case that the constituency changes after preliminary candidate registration, the candidate may choose which constituency to run in =

The National Election Commission (NEC) of the Republic of Korea announced that it has begun registration of preliminary candidates from March 2 for Si/Do council, Gu/Si council and head of local governments’ elections that will take place as part of the 7th nationwide simultaneous local elections. In addition, preliminary candidate registration for Gun council and head of gun government elections begins from April 1.

In the case of elections for for Si/Do and Gu/Si councils, the NEC will at first will accept preliminary candidate registrations according to the current electoral districts. However, if the boundaries change by delimitation according to any law revisions, the NEC plans to let the preliminary candidate select the constituency they wish to run in and republish the campaign expense limits of any changed constituencies. 

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 2 million Korean won ($1,850 USD) for elections for heads of local governments, 600,000 Korean won ($560 USD) for Si/Do council elections and 400,000 Korean won ($420 USD) for Gu/Si council elections.

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.

For the campaigns of preliminary candidates, candidates may:

• Establish a campaign office.

• Distribute business cards.

• Use campaign sashes or markers.

• Make direct campaign phone calls.

• Send campaign material written by the preliminary candidate to a maximum 10% of households in the constituency.

Preliminary candidates for heads of local governments can publish and sell 1 edition of their campaign pledges or other material in the normal manner 

Meanwhile, the NEC said that the delayed delimitation of constituencies is causing difficulties for candidates in their preparation for the election, as well as violating the voters'' right to information. The NEC therefore strongly urged the relevant regulations to be revised as soon as possible.​