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Candidate registration for next month's general elections wrapped up on Wednesday, with a total of 1,119 candidates registered in 245 constituencies. That is a competition ratio of 4.6 candidates for each seat, lower than the 4.8 to one ratio of the last elections five years ago.
Among the registered candidates, 15.3 percent or 172 have criminal records. In the 2003 general elections, 18.9 percent of the candidates had criminal records. This year the parties apparently eliminated aspirants with serious criminal records in their nomination procedures.
Forty-seven candidates with the United Democratic Party have criminal records, as do 41 with the Democratic Labor Party, 16 with the Grand National Party and 15 with a progressive party. Most of UDP, DLP and progressive candidates with criminal records were charged with participating in the democracy movement and violating national security under previous authoritarian governments.
Female candidates number 132, for 11.8 percent of the entire field, a sharp increase from 5.6 percent in the last elections five years ago.
Some candidates are suspected of dodging taxes. Among candidates with over W100 million (US$1=W989) in assets, 79 paid less than W100,000 in taxes per year over the past five years. Among them, 10 paid no taxes over the past five years. One GNP candidate declared that he has assets of W1.2 billion, but he paid just W80,000 per year in taxes on average for the past five years. Another candidate declared assets of W800 million and paid nothing in taxes.
The official campaigning starts on Thursday for a 13-day run. Candidates will be allowed to campaign until midnight on April 8.
Candidate numbers were given in order based on the parties' current occupation of parliamentary seats. UDP candidates will carry No. 1, GNP candidates No. 2, Liberty Forward Party candidates No. 3, DLP candidates No. 4, and Reform of Korea Party No. 5, while a coalition of followers of ex-GNP chairwoman Park Geun-hye was given No. 6.
(englishnews@chosun.com )
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