Candidates for June 13th local elections reach out to people on first day of campaigning

지방선거 D-13...공식 선거전 시작 Campaigning begins for the June local elections.Koreans will be voting for mayors, governors, chiefs of local councils and education superintendents... who will represent them for the next four years.Candidates and their supporters will be reaching out to the people in a variety of ways.Here's Kim Min-ji with a wrap up of day 1. Making a good impression and getting name recognition will be crucial for candidates running for the June 13 local elections.The official campaign period kicked off at midnight Thursday, and for the next 13 days they'll be out and about pitching their agendas. "One 'must-do' on almost all of the candidates' schedules is greeting voters during the morning commute. It's all hands to the pump... as they seek to win over voters and shore up support with election day less than two weeks away." The first day is of particular interest as it gives voters a look at the candidates priorities.Most candidates started campaigning even before the break of dawn -- staking out locations with significance to their policies. Take a look at the race for Seoul Mayor -- it's one of the most contested battlegrounds, having long been seen as a stepping stone to the presidency. Frontrunner Park Won-soon of the ruling Democratic Party of Korea, who is seeking a third term as mayor of the capital -- started his campaigning by meeting with manual laborers working in the wee hours -- thanking them for their hard work and stressing the importance of improving people's livelihoods.He spent the remainder of the day reaching out to the people in the streets asking for support so that the government's policies can be adopted in all areas of the capital. Kim Moon-soo of the main opposition Liberty Korea Party stressed the importance of economic revivial -- using the majority of his first day visiting merchants as well as greeting people at Seoul's local markets.The former Gyeonggi-do provincial governor... also took time to reach out to young people -- notable because the conservative party hasn't been the most popular among the younger population. Ahn Cheol-soo of the minor Bareun Mirae Party stressed the importance of making Seoul safe -- by visiting a police station... and checking out CCTV installations in front of an elementary school.The former presidential candidate also got the attention of passersby by arriving at a campaign site in an electric car he drove himself.With pumped-up campaign songs playing in the background and his supporters cheering, Ahn shook hand after hand. Outside of Seoul,... other closely watched areas... include the southern regions... such as Gyeongsangnam-do Province and Busan -- usually considered strongholds of the conservatives -- but where the ruling liberal party candidates are in the lead according to some polls.The ruling party is seeking a landslide victory buoyed by the high approval rating of the Moon Jae-in administration and the party itself. Lawmak