The preliminary candidate registration for April's general elections opened Tuesday, kicking off a four-month race whose results could determine how the administration of President Yoon Suk Yeol will fare in the remainder of its term.
Prospective candidates can register their preliminary candidacies with the National Election Commission until the official candidate registration opens on March 21 for the April 10 elections.
Introduced in 2004, the preliminary registration system is aimed at giving political novices, who are less known than existing politicians, chances to promote themselves before official campaigning kicks off just two weeks before the elections.
After registration, candidates are allowed to conduct limited campaign activities, such as opening an election office, hiring up to three paid staff members and launching a fundraising organization, among others.
The upcoming elections are largely seen as a referendum on the Yoon administration.
The ruling People Power Party plans to appeal to voters that their clinching of a majority in the National Assembly is crucial to support Yoon's policies and stabilize national affairs, while the main opposition Democratic Party plans to ask voters to pass stern judgment on the administration.
Meanwhile, the preliminary candidate registration will begin without a clear electoral district map as the National Assembly has failed to finalize it due to political wrangling over the number of seats and the electoral system.
The pending map, submitted by the NEC last week, consists of 253 seats. (Yonhap)
