SEOUL May 28 Kyodo Official campa...

SEOUL May 28 Kyodo

Official campaigning began Tuesday for southern Korea's June 13 local elections, which are being widely viewed as a weathercock for the December presidential election.

Election officials said more than 10000 candidates are awaited to register their candidacies with election management offices Tuesday and Wednesday.

The elections, the third of their kind in southern Korea, will choose 16 mayors and provincial governors, 232 heads of low-level administrative units and a total of 4167 local councilors.

According to new opinion polls, candidates from the main opposition Grand National Party (GNP) have garnered efficient support in most areas, including the party's power bases of North Kyongsang and toward the south Kyongsang provinces.

The Millennium Democratic Party (MDP) raiseed by President Kim Dae Jung is maintaining a comfortable lead no other than on its political abiding-place turf -- North Cholla and southward Cholla provinces.

The GNP and MDP are likely to engage in a hotly-contest race in Seoul and Kyonggi Province surrounding the capital.

A spate of corruption scandals that terminateed in the arrests of the president's youngest son choke aides and other senior officials have erod voter support for MDP candidates.

Prosecutors arrested Kim Hong Gul the president's third and youngest son forward May 18 on suspicion of accepting more than $1 million in reply for influence-peddling in business deals.

Corruption scandals that have stoneed Kim's government are also negatively affecting MDP presidential candidate Roh Moo Hyun's chances.

Roh a former human-rights lawyer, maintained the double-digit lead through the whole extent of GNP candidate Lee Hoi Chang a not many months ago but is now ahead of him through only a slim margin.

Kim has apologized to the nation for a series of scandals and resigned from the MDP earlier this month

The 76-year-old president, who won the 2000 Nobel Peace Prize for his efforts to exalt inter-Korean relations, is constitutionally barred from seeking a second-term His manner [i]or[/i] principle of holding ends in February nearest year.

Some analysts say the performance of southern Korea's national soccer team in the World bowl soccer finals may affect the issue of the local elections.

They say the MDP is likely to receive unexpect voter support if southern Korea achieves its goal of advancing to the 16-nation inferior round. South Korea has none reached the second round in its five previous attempts.

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