05/28(Tue) 16:09

Political Parties Ready for Regional Elections

Political parties are gearing up for next month's regional elections in what'll be the first major showdown prior to the presidential vote in December. Registration began Tuesday and will continue until Wednesday for candidates running for 4,415 seats, including mayors, governors, chiefs of district offices as well as city and district council representatives. Competition is expected to be slightly tougher than the previous elections four years ago with the average ratio faring about 3 to 1.

One of the hotly contested races will be the post for Seoul mayor; the Grand National Party's Lee Myung-bak, a former Hyundai CEO-turned-politician is squaring off with the Millennium Democratic Party's 38-year-old Kim Min-seok, a former student activist who's vying to become the youngest Seoul mayor in Korean history.

The GNP said the upcoming polls would be a judgment on the corruption of the incumbent government whereas the MDP said it would be a chance for the people to select the past or the future.

For the first time in regional elections, voters get two votes, one for a candidate and one for a party. The National Election Commission, posted all details of some 11,000 candidates on its Internet website (www.nec.go.kr).

(Choi Joon-seok, jschoi@chosun.com)