On the first day of the official registration of candidates for the 20th presidential election, the presidential candidates from the four parties went through the official registration process.
On the morning of the 13th, proxies for Lee Jae-myung, the presidential candidate from the Democratic Party of Korea (DP), Yoon Seok-youl, the presidential candidate from the People Power Party (PPP), Sim Sang-jung, the presidential candidate from the Justice Party, and Ahn Cheol-soo, the presidential candidate from the People Party, submitted their registration forms at the Gyeonggi-do Election Commission.
DP’s Lee Jae-myung’s proxies were KAIST professor Cha Ji-ho and Nam Jin-hee, a high school student. The fact that Lee had an 18-year-old first-time voter act as a proxy during the registration was explained that this candidate is willing to improve the COVID-19 situation and communicate with the young people.
PPP’s Yoon Seok-youl’s proxies were his chief-of-staff Seo Il-joon, his deputy director of strategy and planning Lee Chul-kyu, and Cho Seung-yeon from the ‘Thinking of Tomorrow Youth Committee’. Deputy Director Lee met with reporters and criticized that the government’s real estate policy and quarantine measures were erroneous.
Justice Party’s Sim Sang-jung’s proxies for the registration were Kim Ji-soo, a young delivery rider, Kim Young-hoon, a young laborer at the Taean Thermal Power Plant, and Kang Hye-ji, a young mental health employee. People Party’s presidential candidate Ahn Cheol-soo originally planned to register in person, but due to his wife testing positive for COVID-19, so Lee Tae-kyu, an official from the election polling committee, submitted the registration.
The registration for the candidacy ran until the 14th and they also had to make a deposit of 300 million won. The candidates also had to submit a report on their registered property, military service, and tax reports and delinquent payments of themselves and their spouses for the last five years. Candidates who have completed their registration will officially begin their election campaigns from the 15th.
Party-recommended candidates will be given election subsidies up to two days after the registration deadline. It is allocated according to the number of lawmakers belonging to the political party that the candidates are registered under and the proportional representative vote rate at the time of the general election. From the time of registration as a candidate, an election office or election liaison office can be set up. Signs, boards, and banners can be put up on the exterior of the office, but ad-balloons are prohibited.
From the 15th until two days before the election day, candidates can post necessary matters, such as their party’s policy and/or their opinions, 70 times as newspaper advertisement. They can put out TV and radio advertisements from the 15th until March 8th. 1-minute ads within a 30-minute session can be made.
Street campaigns are also allowed. Candidates may speak in public places or speak using cars, loudspeakers, etc. It is also allowed for representatives from the party and/or celebrities to broadcast recorded promotional videos, or for election clerks and volunteers to sing and dance to their jingle. However, it is only permitted from 7 a.m. to 10 p.m. and for portable loudspeakers, from 6 a.m. to 11 p.m.
Recruitment of party members and distribution of membership applications will be prohibited from the 15th until March 9th. From March 3rd, public opinion polls and results that can influence the election are prohibited.
From the 23rd to the 28th, the Korean nationals living overseas will be voting for the presidential election at 178 diplomatic offices worldwide. Those who are eligible are 18 years of age or older, are Korean nationals with permanent residency in a foreign country, those who are traveling overseas during the election period, or living abroad. The number of Koreans living abroad who applied to vote in the 20th presidential election was 231,314. The early voting will take place on March 4-5.
Although the National Election Commission announced the three dates (21st, 25th, and March 2) of the televised debates, another debate can be held at any time if agreed by the candidates.
Original article: https://www.jayupress.com/news/articleView.html?idxno=2378
