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Candidates for next month's parliamentary elections kicked off official campaigning at midnight Thursday with rival parties expected to engage in a fierce battle in the capital and surrounding areas.
The April 13 polls will elect 300 lawmakers for a four-year term, with 253 of them to be selected through direct elections and the remaining 47 proportional representation seats to be allocated to parties according to the numbers of votes that they receive overall.
A total of 944 candidates -- 844 men and 100 women -- are set to compete for the 253 seats. The competition rate is 3.7 to one, compared with 3.76 to one in the previous parliamentary elections in 2012, the country's election watchdog said.
The ruling Saenuri Party has vowed to claim a clear-cut victory by winning more than a majority in the National Assembly, where it currently holds 146 of 292 seats.
Saenuri Chairman Kim Moo-sung, along with senior party members, first visited a night market in central Seoul at midnight. Up for grabs are 122 constituencies in Seoul and the surrounding area, cited as a crucial battleground.
"A 13-day campaigning of 312 hours has just begun," Kim said, noting that the 20th general elections will determine the future of South Korea.
The main opposition Minjoo Party of Korea, meanwhile, has criticized the incumbent administration's handling of the economy and aims to win about 130 seats.
Kim Chong-in, the party's interim chairman, also visited a night market in the nearby area, raising the curtain on the campaign in the capital city and the surrounding areas.
"Eight years of the administration under the Saenuri have been a lost time," Kim said, urging active voter participation in picking the country's lawmakers.
The splinter People's Party also aims to grab 20 seats, which would allow it to form a parliamentary negotiation bloc.
The party's co-chairman, Ahn Cheol-soo, is slated to visit a job academy in central Seoul and meet with young job seekers, party officials said.
The 13-day campaigning period is set to run through midnight on April 12. (Yonhap)
