Candidate registration for June 3 local elections to begin this week

SEOUL, May 12 (Yonhap) -- Candidate registration for the upcoming local elections and parliamentary by-elections will open this week, the election watchdog said Tuesday, about three weeks before the polls widely seen as a gauge of the public's view on President Lee Jae Myung's first year in office. The National Election Commission (NEC) will receive candidacy registrations on Thursday and Friday. Official campaigning will kick off May 21 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. Key contests include the mayoral races in Seoul and the traditional conservative strongholds of Daegu and Busan. The race for Seoul mayor will be mainly between incumbent Mayor Oh Se-hoon of the main opposition People Power Party (PPP) and 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 have drawn greater attention as 14 National Assembly seats are also at stake in parliamentary by-elections, including the closely watched Buk-A constituency in the southeastern city of Busan, where former PPP leader Han Dong-hoon is running as an independent. Han will face 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. Cho Kuk, leader of the liberal Rebuilding Korea Party, is aiming for a parliamentary seat representing Pyeongtaek of Gyeonggi Province. Early voting is set for two days from May 29. Election officials promote voter participation in front of a train station in the southeastern port city of Busan on May 12, 2026, ahead of the June 3 local elections. (Yonhap) julesyi@yna.co.kr(END)