513 uncontested candidates elected ahead of June 3 local elections

A total of 513 candidates, including three local government heads, have been elected without a vote as they ran unopposed ahead of the June 3 local elections, the election watchdog said Saturday. For the upcoming elections, 307 electoral districts will not hold a vote due to uncontested races or insufficient candidates, according to the National Election Commission. The three local government chiefs elected without a vote are Kim I-gang, head of the southwestern city of Gwangju's Seo ward, Kim Byung-nae, chief of Gwangju's Nam ward, and Lim Byeong-taek, mayor of Siheung, just south of Seoul. All three candidates are members of the ruling Democratic Party (DP). Gwangju is widely considered as a DP stronghold. In the case of Siheung, the main opposition People Power Party failed to field a candidate amid a lack of prospective nominees. The other 510 elected candidates are local council members. Meanwhile, a total of 7,829 candidates have registered for the upcoming elections after two days of registrations through Friday, according to the election watchdog. Up for grabs in the June elections

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