Registrations Reveal Candidate Info
May 16 marked the first registration day for candidates of the May 31 national local elections. About 1,400 candidates signed up their names at the National Election Commission (NEC) including 30 candidates running for metropolitan mayor and provincial governor posts. Through the Internet, the NEC opened to the public information on registered candidates such as tax payment records, military service records, criminal records and education level.
Out of the four Seoul Mayor candidates that registered on that day, the three former lawyers had paid hundreds of millions of won in taxes during the past five years.
Uri Party candidate and former Horizon Law Group Chief Attorney Kang Kum-sil paid the most taxes by paying 344.64 million won, Millennium Democratic Party (MDP) candidate Park Joo-sun ranked second by paying 264.96 million won and Grand National Party (GNP) Oh Se-hoon paid 214.13 million won.
There was a large difference in the amount of the candidates assets. While candidate Kang owed 418.12 million won, candidate Oh has 3.6 billion won in assets, candidate Park 1.7 billion won and People First Party (PFP) Yim Ung-kyun reported 380 million won in assets.
Out of all the metropolitan mayoral and gubernatorial candidates, Democratic Labor Party (DLP) candidates had paid the least taxes, and out of them, Daejeon mayoral candidate Park Chun-ho ranked at the bottom with 310,000 won in paid taxes.
One third of the 2002 metropolitan mayoral and gubernatorial candidates were exempted from military service, but only three out of the 28 male candidates that registered on that day were exempt.
Of all the registered candidates that day, the wealthiest candidate was incumbent Taean-gun Administrator Jin Tae-gu, who reported his total assets at 22.15 billion won.
Gyeongbuk Province Mungyeong City mayor candidate Park In-won (an independent) followed in second with 20.09 billion won, Uri Party Seoul Mapo-gu administrator candidate Kim Chung-hyun was third with 11.93 billion won.
Among metropolitan mayoral and gubernatorial candidates, Uri Party Busan Mayoral candidate Oh Keo-don was the most affluent, reporting 7.99 billion won in assets.
Gyeongnam Goseong Na District candidate Park Tae-hoon reported the lowest financial statement, which was a debt of 360.96 million won.
The percentage of college graduate candidates running for local administrator spots was an astounding 42.5 percent, or almost twice the figure of the 2002 elections, which was 22.3 percent.
As for metropolitan mayoral and gubernatorial candidates, 27, or 90 percent, had either graduated from college or graduate school. The numbers for the 2002 elections were 87.3 percent.
In addition, 63 percent of metropolitan and provincial assembly member candidates are college graduates, a significant increase from 2002s 50.8 percent. Local administrator candidates college graduate percentage increased this year, from 69.2 in 2002 to 75.2 percent.
Meanwhile, 56 percent of mayoral and gubernatorial candidates, 16.1 percent of metropolitan and provincial assembly member candidates, 35.2 percent of Local administrator candidates, and 7.3 percent of local assembly candidates had graduated from graduate school.
Local Assembly member candidate Oh Dong-seok, a Social Party (SP) candidate who registered at Daegu Suseong-gu First District, is seriously handicapped with cerebral palsy and has even difficulty in moving. However, being an ardent activist for the rights of handicapped, he was the representative of Saram Center for Independent Living and said, I want to be the voice of the neglected such as the handicapped, senior citizens and women.
Starting with the 1988 general election, candidate Kang Do-seok, running for Gwangju Nam-gu administrator, has run for a National Assembly seat four times, five times for local administrator, and once for metropolitan assembly member, but failed all 11 times.
Kim Haeng-dahm, Uri Party candidate for a seat at the Jeju Local Assembly, is a retired brigadier general that started his career enlisting as a private and ending as the commander of the army CBR Defense Command.
Mystery novel author Kim Sung-jong registered as the Uri Party candidate in Busan Haeundae Second District, where the GNP is strongly favored.
It is also interesting that five out of the 18 candidates registered for local assembly seat at Busan Gijang-gu Ga District are relatives. Kim Man-seon (71) is Kim Tae-hongs (45) great uncle, and Roh Bok-il (55) is the husband of his sister-in-law. GNP candidate Kim Jung-woo (42) and Sung Won-bo (65) are maternal cousins.
The eldest candidate registered on that day was 76-year-old Jeon Soo-bok, who is running for office in Gyeongbuk Seongju-gun, and the youngest was 26-year-old DLP candidate Park Hae-ung, who wants a seat at the Yongin City Assembly.
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