The 8th National Simultaneous Local Election is 180 days away.
Next year's June 1 local elections will be held about three months apart from the March 9 presidential election.
Although it is a structure that is easy to be obscured by the presidential election due to the political schedule, the political significance is too great in that it is the first measure of the post-election politics.
The direction and distribution of local power, which forms the basis of grassroots politics, can be a significant variable for the next government operation.
According to the National Election Commission on the 2nd today (2nd), this local election, in which the 8th general election, the heads of regional and local governments, regional and basic councilors, and the superintendent of education, etc. are elected all at once, will be held simultaneously in 17 cities and provinces nationwide on June 1, next year. .
Starting tomorrow, 180 days before the election, restrictions will be placed on activities affecting the election.
Starting with the elections for the mayor/do governor and superintendent of education, the registration of preliminary candidates will begin in February next year.
Candidate registration takes place from May 12 to 13, and the full-scale election period begins on the 19th of the same month.
This election is very meaningful in that it coincides with the start of a new government.
The national election will be held again just three weeks after the new president took office on May 10, next year.
If the next ruling party wins the local elections, it can seize power and seize the lead in politics by taking over the central power and then the grassroots power.
The Moon Jae-in government ran on a solid road with a landslide victory in the June 13, 2018 local elections held a year after taking office, winning 14 out of 17 regional group heads.
This became a bridgehead for securing 180 seats, including the proportional party, in the general election the following year.
Basically, the general evaluation is that the results of the March next year's presidential election will have no choice but to affect the local elections.
As it is held closer to the presidential election than ever, there is a high probability that the so-called 'honeymoon election' will produce favorable results for the ruling party.
It is an observation that the popular sentiment that led the inauguration of the next government will surely give power to the ruling party to secure power for government at the beginning of the term.
In addition, it is expected that it will not be easy for the party that lost the previous election to gather power in the local election as it is bound to suffer a certain aftermath.
Bae Cheol-ho, a senior expert on Real Meter, said, "In fact, while looking at the photos of the presidential inauguration, there are posters for local elections on the street and car washes going around.
However, it is predicted that it will not be easy for the ruling party to re-enact a landslide victory like the 2018 local elections, when the Democratic Party swept victories not only for the heads of regional governments, but also for heads of local governments in Seoul, Busan, Ulsan, and Gyeongnam.
Unlike at the time when the current opposition suffered a devastating blow during the 'impeachment policy', as both sides restored the balance of power to some extent,The point is that the next government's theory of regime stability and the theory of checks can be tightly contested.
The fact that Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon and Busan Mayor Park Hyung-joon were elected side by side in the 4·7 re/by-election, the people's strength, is an event that clearly shows the changed public opinion landscape.
In the end, although the influence of the presidential election mainly plays in the metropolitan area, there is also talk of a possibility that the regional structure will be reenacted as camps gather in the provinces according to the theory of government checks.
As seen in the case of Democratic Party presidential candidate Lee Jae-myung, who was a former governor of Gyeonggi-do, as he can jump up to the 'Jamryong' by winning the local election at once, attention is focused on who will be challenging himself.
As the presidential election turns into an unpredictable structure, the local election landscape is even more of a 'zero clock' situation.
While many incumbent regional group heads seem to be re-challenging, there are also many places where new faces are scheduled to meet.
In the case of the mayor of Seoul, which is the biggest winner, as Mayor Oh Se-hoon, who belongs to the People's Power, is making a re-challenge, as of now, the names of big names such as Park Young-seon and Chu Mi-ae, former ministers, are rising and falling in the Democratic Party.
Even for the position of governor of Gyeonggi-do, which became a communist state due to the resignation of Candidate Jae-myung Lee, it is observed that heavyweights from both the ruling and opposition parties will challenge themselves.
Challengers are also expected to flock to the positions of governors of Gangwon-do and North Chungcheong Province, where former governor Kim Kyung-soo was imprisoned for his convictions, and incumbent governors Choi Moon-soon and Lee Si-jong, who were unable to re-apply for three consecutive terms, were unable to re-apply.
Competition is expected to be fierce for the successor to former Jeju-do Governor Won Hee-ryong, who resigned while challenging for the presidency.
Senior expert Bae said, "Whether the winner or loser in the presidential election, the local election report card will work more heavily than usual.