Some 1,170 Finish Registration to Run in Elections


By Park Song-wu
Staff Reporter
Some 1,170 candidates have submitted applications to run for the April 15 general elections to the National Election Commission (NEC).

The number of lawmaker hopefuls registered with the election watchdog amounted to 1,174 as of 10 p.m. on Thursday, bringing the competition ratio to about 4.8 to 1, compared with 4.6 to 1 in the previous 2000 elections.

The NEC wrapped up its two-day registration period ahead of the start of the 13-day campaign period beginning Friday.

The pro-government Uri Party had the largest number registered with 243, followed by the majority Grand National Party (GNP) with 218. The opposition Millennium Democratic Party (MDP), which is disintegrating under a leadership crisis, had enrolled 181 candidates, 58 higher than the Democratic Labor Party (DLP), which currently has no incumbent lawmakers.

There were 1,108 male and 66 female legislator hopefuls. The 17th parliament will become younger as those in their 40s make up the largest portion at 40.1 percent, followed by 28.0 percent in their 50s. The average age of the 16th Assembly was 54.2.

On the final day for enrollment, many candidates were still hurrying even two hours before the 5 p.m. deadline. Only around 820 completed their paperwork by 3 p.m., a slight rise from 657 candidates who had submitted their applications at the NEC’s 243 offices nationwide a day earlier.

Candidates for regional seats felt no reason to rush because they could not legally begin electoral campaigning until Friday, unlike past elections when candidates could start campaigning right after submitting their applications.

Fourteen parties had registered their candidate lists for the proportional representation system as of 3 p.m. The MDP enrolled its lineup only five seconds before the deadline. They arrived at the NEC headquarters 30 minutes before 5 p.m., but had to wait for the arrival of the deposit money worth 660 million won ($550,000).

The GNP, which finished composing its 44-member lineup Tuesday, had a tough time preparing the necessary documents for the registration. The situation of the MDP was much worse as it was re-examining its list due to the party’s leadership haggling.

Each party was required to sign up their candidates at the NEC headquarters in Seoul for the 56 proportional seats. Of the total 299 lawmakers, voters will directly elect 243 regional representatives. A second vote will be made for the party they support in order to decide the 56 proportional seats.

Another reason causing candidates to delay the enrollment process as much as possible was a revised election law clause that requires candidates to present detailed records on their assets, military service, tax payments and criminal convictions. Nine mandatory documents and five appendixes were required in total.

Political watchers, however, said candidates with records of law violations and tax evasion might have tried to postpone the declaration until the last moment to evade media attention. Many of the first-day reporters have already come under fire.


im@koreatimes.co.kr