Preliminary Registration for County Governor and County Council Elections Begins on the 22nd

Registration Available from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Sunday, March 22

Photo by Chungnam Election Commission

The Chungnam Election Commission will begin accepting registrations for preliminary candidates for county governor and constituency county council member elections in the 9th Nationwide Local Elections starting from March 22.

Although the first day for registration applications is a public holiday, in accordance with Article 26 of the Public Official Election Management Regulations, preliminary candidates can register at the relevant county election commission from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m.

◆ How to Register as a Preliminary Candidate

Anyone wishing to become a preliminary candidate must be at least 18 years old as of the election day (born on or before June 4, 2008) and must submit documents to the relevant county election commission, including a certificate of family relations (or similar documentation regarding eligibility for candidacy), a criminal record certificate, and a certificate of academic background.

In addition, at the time of registration, a deposit must be paid to the relevant county election commission: KRW 2 million for the county governor election and KRW 400,000 for the constituency county council member election (which is 20% of the candidate’s deposit).

However, if the person wishing to become a preliminary candidate is registered as a person with a disability under Article 32 of the Welfare of Persons with Disabilities Act, or is 29 years old or younger as of the election day, the deposit is KRW 1 million for the county governor election and KRW 200,000 for the constituency county council member election (which is 50% of the preliminary candidate’s deposit).

Additionally, if the candidate is between 30 and 39 years old as of the election day, the deposit is KRW 1.4 million for the county governor election and KRW 280,000 for the constituency county council member election (which is 70% of the preliminary candidate’s deposit).

◆ How Preliminary Candidates May Campaign

Once registered as a preliminary candidate, it is permitted to: ▲ establish an election office ▲ distribute campaign business cards ▲ create and send preliminary candidate promotional materials up to 10% of the number of households in the constituency ▲ campaign by wearing or carrying sashes or identification items.

Preliminary candidates for the county governor election may publish one type of pledge booklet and sell it using general methods (excluding door-to-door sales).

Even those who are not preliminary candidates or campaign staff may campaign by sending text messages, using internet homepages, or sending emails at any time, and may campaign by phone or in person outside of election day.

However, to conduct campaign activities by sending text messages via automated mass messaging, or by using an email transmission agency to send emails, one must be registered as a preliminary candidate or candidate.

Automated mass messaging refers to the method of sending text messages either to more than 20 recipients at the same time, or by using a program to automatically select recipients and send messages, even if there are 20 or fewer recipients.

◆ Establishment of a Preliminary Candidate Sponsorship Association, etc.

A person registered as a preliminary candidate may establish a preliminary candidate sponsorship association. The designated sponsor may collect up to 50% of the election expense limit for the county governor election, or up to KRW 30 million for the constituency county council member election, including the sum of sponsorships to both the same preliminary candidate and candidate sponsorship associations.

For inquiries regarding requirements for preliminary candidate registration or campaign methods, please contact your local election commission. Documents regarding criminal records and academic background submitted by preliminary candidates can be checked on the website of the National Election Commission.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.