Campaign officially begins for June 3 elections with 7,800 candidates

“The campaign period for the June 3 local elections and parliamentary by-elections officially kicked off, Thursday, launching a nearly two-week nationwide race that both the ruling and opposition parties view as crucial to the future course of government. Candidates across the country launched full-fledged voter outreach, with campaigning set to continue through June 2. According to the National Election Commission, as of Wednesday, 7,829 people registered as candidates, of whom 7,820 remain in the race. Voters will elect 16 metropolitan and provincial chiefs, 227 mayors and county heads, 804 metropolitan council members, 2,650 local council members, 16 education superintendents and 14 members of the National Assembly. The governing liberal Democratic Party of Korea (DPK) is casting the elections as a mandate to shore up support for the Lee Jae Myung administration and secure momentum for social and economic reforms. Speaking to reporters on Wednesday, Rep. Jo Seoung-lae, one of the senior members of the party’s central election committee, called the elections a “golden time to comple

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