Campaign season kicks off ahead of June local elections

By Yoo Na-hyun Posted : May 13, 2026, 17:54 Updated : May 13, 2026, 17:54
Election officials from the Seoul Metropolitan Election Commission promote voter participation in front of a public campaign sculpture for South Korea’s 9th nationwide local elections outside the Korea Press Center in Seoul’s Jung District on May 13, 2026. AJP Yoo Na-hyun.

SEOUL, May 13 (AJP) - Ahead of South Korea’s ninth nationwide local elections on June 3, the country’s election authority rolled out a public voting campaign installation in central Seoul on Wednesday, turning a busy downtown plaza into a civic awareness site.

The sculpture, installed by the National Election Commission in front of the Korea Press Center in Seoul’s Jung District, features the commission’s mascot character “Cham Cham” alongside the slogan: “We create the region we want to live in through voting.”

South Korea’s National Election Commission (NEC) installed a public voting campaign sculpture in central Seoul on Wednesday ahead of the country’s 9th nationwide local elections scheduled for June 3.

The promotional installation, unveiled at the plaza in front of the Korea Press Center in Seoul’s Jung District, features the NEC’s mascot character “Cham Cham” alongside the slogan, “We create the region we want to live in through voting.”

The campaign comes as South Korea prepares for local elections that will select mayors, governors, local council members and education superintendents across the country. Election authorities are also promoting early voting schedules and procedures through outdoor displays and public messaging campaigns concentrated in high-traffic urban areas. 

Under South Korean election law, voting on June 3 will run from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. at designated polling stations nationwide. Citizens aged 18 or older as of election day — including those born on or before June 4, 2008 — are eligible to vote. Early voting is scheduled for May 29-30.
 

Election officials from the Seoul Metropolitan Election Commission promote voter participation in front of a public campaign sculpture for South Korea’s 9th nationwide local elections outside the Korea Press Center in Seoul’s Jung District on May 13, 2026. AJP Yoo Na-hyun
 
Election officials from the Seoul Metropolitan Election Commission promote voter participation in front of a public campaign sculpture for South Korea’s 9th nationwide local elections outside the Korea Press Center in Seoul’s Jung District on May 13, 2026. AJP Yoo Na-hyun

 

Election officials from the Seoul Metropolitan Election Commission promote voter participation in front of a public campaign sculpture for South Korea’s 9th nationwide local elections outside the Korea Press Center in Seoul’s Jung District on May 13, 2026. AJP Yoo Na-hyun

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