Seoul, Feb 15 The official campaign period for South Korea's March 9 presidential election kicked-off on Tuesday for a 22-day run, allowing candidates to rally on streets and publish ads in a final appeal to voters.
Lee Jae-myung, the candidate of the ruling Democratic Party, launched his campaign of the official period at the stroke of midnight with a visit to a vessel traffic control tower in the southeastern port city of Busan, reports Yonhap News Agency.
"Busan was once a city of refugees but grew into an international city reaching out to the world by land and sea, and will become the centre of the southern metropolitan area in the future," Lee told reporters, explaining why he chose the city as the first stop on his campaign trail.
Yoon Suk-yeol, the candidate of the main opposition People Power Party, began his campaign by paying his respects at the Seoul National Cemetery, a customary visit for South Korean politic at the start of a new journey.
Later in the day, he will embark on a campaign trail that will take him from central Seoul to Daejeon, Daegu and Busan.
Ahn Cheol-soo of the centrist People's Party met voters in the conservative stronghold of Daegu and plans to visit the birthplace of former President Park Chung-hee later in the day.
Sim Sang-jeung of the progressive Justice Party greeted voters in Iksan, North Jeolla Province where he will spend the first two days of the campaign period.
A total of 14 people have registered their candidacies with the National Election Commission.
During the official campaign period, candidates are allowed to print their party platforms and other campaign material in newspapers up to 70 times and air TV and radio ad campaigns of up to a minute as many as 30 times per channel.
Candidates will be able to make speeches in open spaces with the help of campaign vehicles and loudspeakers between 6 a.m. and 11 p.m.
This will be the first presidential election to be held after the legal voting age was lowered from 19 to 18 in 2020.
Under a bill passed by the National Assembly on Monday, Covid-19 patients and those in quarantine will also be able to vote on election day from 6 p.m. to 7.30 p.m. after regular polling closes.
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