A staff member on May 12 watches an electronic billboard counting down the days before the June 3 presidential election at the situation room of the National Election Commission in Gwacheon, Gyeonggi-do Province. May 12 marked the official start of the 22-day campaign period for the election. (Yonhap News)

By Yoon Sojung

The campaign period for the June 3 presidential election on May 12 began its official 22-day run.

The National Election Commission (NEC) said seven people entered their bids to run on May 11, the deadline for candidate registration.

The seven are Lee Jae-myung of the Democratic Party of Korea (No. 1); Kim Moon-soo of the People Power Party (No. 2); Lee Jun-seok of the Reform Party (No. 4); Kwon Young-guk of the Democratic Labor Party (No. 5), Koo Joo-wa of the Liberty Unification Party (No. 6); and independents Hwang Kyo-ahn (No. 7) and Song Jin-ho (No. 8).

Under the Public Official Election Act, each candidate's number is based on the number of National Assembly members his party has. Because the Rebuilding Korea Party did not submit a standardbearer, No. 3 was not included.

Through midnight on June 2, the day before the election, candidates may carry out activities within the boundary of election law, ranging from speeches and forums at public spaces, use of printed materials and facilities, and campaigns using the media and information and communication networks. The NEC website (https://policy.nec.go.kr) also offers information about 10 major policies and election pledges of the candidates.

Voting for Koreans abroad is scheduled from May 20-25 and early voting from May 29-30. The main voting on June 3 will be from 6 a.m. to 8 p.m.

Except on Election Day, voters can promote support for a specific party or candidate through word of mouth or phone. They can perform volunteer work for a campaign but cannot receive payment for it or reimbursement for expenses.

Election authorities urged the public not to share or spread content defaming candidates or containing false information on social media that violate election law.

The NEC advised people to follow election law so that the election is both fair and transparent to allow candidates to fairly compete by presenting their policy pledges, urging voters to exercise their right after meticulously examining each hopeful and his campaign.

arete@korea.kr