Rival parties gear up for official campaigning set to begin Thursday

local elections-official campaigning

Rival parties gear up for official campaigning set to begin Thursday

SEOUL, May 20 (Yonhap) -- The ruling and opposition parties geared up Wednesday for the June 3 local elections and parliamentary by-elections, a day before the start of the official campaign period for the closely watched nationwide vote.

The 13-day campaign period will begin Thursday and last until the eve of the elections, with the ruling Democratic Party (DP) and the main opposition People Power Party (PPP) expected to launch full-scale campaigns to woo voters across the nation.

During this period, candidates and their campaign teams will be allowed to give speeches in public places between 7 a.m. and 11 p.m., distribute campaign materials and put up campaign banners.

This composite file photo shows Democratic Party leader Rep. Jung Chung-rae (L) and People Power Party leader Rep. Jang Dong-hyeok. (Yonhap)

The election is widely considered the first major nationwide test for the Lee Jae Myung administration since it took office last June following former President Yoon Suk Yeol's ouster over his failed martial law bid.

The DP has urged voters to support the party in the elections, stressing the need to "normalize the country" and root out what it calls lingering "insurrectionist forces" linked to Yoon.

"(The official campaign period) will be the golden time to complete the normalization of South Korea," said Rep. Jo Seoung-lae, DP secretary general and head of the party election campaign committee.

"The election also carries political significance, as an extension of the presidential election, in eradicating the remnants of the incompetent insurrectionist forces."

Election campaign vehicles to be used by Oh Se-hoon, the main opposition People Power Party's candidate for the Seoul mayoral race in the June 3 local elections, and his campaigners stand at a plant manufacturing such vehicles in Yangju, near the capital, on May 18, 2026, three days before official campaigning for the elections and parliamentary by-elections begins. (Yonhap)

The DP leadership plans to kick off its official campaign in the key battleground of Seoul on the first day of the period, before heading to the central Chungcheong region, including Daejeon and Sejong, and to the conservative southeastern region of Yeongnam.

"We expect the Seoul mayoral race to be quite a tight race, and that is exactly how it is unfolding," Rep. Jo said.

Incumbent Mayor Oh Se-hoon of the PPP and DP candidate Chong Won-o are locked in a close race in the Seoul mayoral election.

The PPP, meanwhile, plans on splitting the campaign trails of its leadership, with PPP leader Jang Dong-hyeok beginning in the central city of Daejeon and party floor leader Song Eon-seog first heading to the conservative stronghold of Busan.

A total of 7,829 candidates have registered for the upcoming elections, including 54 candidates vying for 16 metropolitan mayors and provincial governors, and 585 candidates for 227 heads of lower-level administrative units. Also up for grabs are 804 seats in provincial and metropolitan councils, and 2,650 in lower-level local councils, along with 14 National Assembly seats in parliamentary by-elections that will be held simultaneously on June 3.