As of 9 p.m. on the 14th — the first day of candidate registration for parliamentary by-elections held alongside the June 3 local elections — the National Election Commission had registered 34 candidates. Those candidates reported an average of 2,056,980,000 KRW (about $1.54 million) in assets each.
By declared assets, Kim Yong-nam, the Democratic Party candidate in Pyeongtaek B, ranked first with 12,770,490,000 KRW (about $9.58 million).
Lee Jin-sook, the People Power Party candidate in Dalseong, was second with 8,215,390,000 KRW (about $6.16 million). Cho Guk, the candidate from the ChoGuk Innovation Party, reported 5,666,767,000 KRW (about $4.25 million), and Hwang Kyo-ahn of the Liberty and Innovation Party reported 5,037,770,000 KRW (about $3.78 million), placing third and fourth, respectively.
Cho and Hwang are competing against one another in Pyeongtaek B.
Hah Jung-woo, the Democratic candidate in Busan Buk-gap and a former head of Naver Cloud’s AI Innovation Center who previously served as the Blue House’s AI future planning chief, ranked fifth with 4,248,800,000 KRW (about $3.19 million).
Excluding those top five, the remaining 29 candidates reported an average of 1,172,310,000 KRW (about $879,233) in assets.
The candidate with the smallest declared assets was Shin Ji-hye of the Basic Income Party, running in Gwangju Gwangsan B, who reported 31,000,000 KRW (about $23,250).
By party, the 11 Democratic Party candidates averaged 2,637,550,000 KRW (about $1.98 million); 10 People Power Party candidates averaged 1,923,400,000 KRW (about $1.44 million); and four Reform New Party candidates averaged 1,796,780,000 KRW (about $1.35 million).
Meanwhile, among the registered parliamentary candidates to date, 25.9% of the male candidates have not completed mandatory military service.
The National Election Commission reported that 27 of the 34 registered candidates are men, and seven of those men have not served in the military. By party, the breakdown is: Democratic Party 4, People Power Party 1, Liberty and Innovation 1, and independent 1.
Specifically, the Democratic Party candidates who did not fulfill military service obligations are Song Young-gil (running in Incheon Yeonsu A), Lee Kwang-jae (Gyeonggi Hanam A), Kim Eui-gyeom (Jeonbuk Gunsan·Gimje·Buan A), and Park Hyung-ryong (Daegu Dalseong). From the People Power Party, Yoon Yong-geun, running in Chungnam Gongju·Buyeo·Cheongyang, is listed as not having completed service.
Hwang Kyo-ahn, the Liberty and Innovation candidate in Pyeongtaek B, and independent Kim Jong-hoe, running in Jeonbuk Gunsan·Gimje·Buan A, also have not completed military service.
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