The official campaign period for the June 3 local elections began on May 21. The election will choose 4,227 officials in total, including heads of local governments, council members, and education superintendents. In the concurrent National Assembly by-elections, 14 lawmakers will also be selected by voters. Voters should carefully assess each candidate's character through public speeches, debates, campaign brochures, and election posters before making their choice. Recent polls in major regions show that 8 to 9 out of 10 respondents say they intend to vote, reflecting strong voter interest.
Yet even before the official campaign began, mudslinging between the ruling and opposition parties, as well as between conservative and progressive camps, has reached a level that frowns voters. Verification of policies and candidates has gone missing, while baseless fake news and slander run rampant. As of May 19, the National Election Commission had identified 189 cases of suspected violations of election law related to false statements and prohibited defamation in connection with the June 3 local elections — about 1.7 times the figure from the local elections four years ago. The education superintendent races, held simultaneously, are also rife with smear campaigns amid a flood of regional candidates. In Seoul, where as many as eight candidates are running for education superintendent, attempts at unifying conservative and progressive contenders have unraveled, devolving into a mudslinging battle of refusals to concede and lawsuits. Voters are now poised to elect the heads of metropolitan and provincial education offices — who oversee roughly 100 trillion won in annual local education subsidies — without even knowing properly who the candidates are.
Local elections are a festival of democracy meant to select workers for the community. In keeping with that purpose, the ruling and opposition parties and their candidates should refrain from groundless smears and slander, and instead devote themselves to a contest of visions and policies that can revive the local economy and people's livelihoods. But given the current state of affairs, it is hard not to worry that this election may end up being held in the dark. It is particularly problematic that only one statutory televised debate is scheduled each for the Seoul mayoral race, the Gyeonggi gubernatorial race, and the National Assembly by-election in Busan's Buk-gap district. This is largely due to the passive attitude some candidates have shown toward holding debates. The Seoul mayoral candidates' debate has even been scheduled for 11 p.m. on May 28, just seven hours before early voting begins. Under such conditions, how can voters properly examine candidates' competence, integrity, and policy visions to make the right choice?
