The National Election Commission announced that the election commission in each region is scheduled to seal and issue recommendation forms from March 17 for independent candidates who wish to run for the 19^th National Assembly elections. This will enable independent candidates to get supporting signatures from voters.

An individual who wishes to run for the coming National Assembly elections as an independent candidate will need a recommendation form sealed by the election commission in his/her district. When applying for registration of candidates, these candidates will be required to submit the recommendation forms containing supporting signatures they have received from more than 300 but less than 500 voters in the concerned district.

Candidates will not necessarily have to get supporting signatures in person and information on candidates’ career may be introduced to public for the collection of supporting signatures. However, supporting signatures gained on the ground of a recommendation form not officially sealed by the election commissions or supporting signatures from more than 500 voters will be regarded as invalid.

Voters must put their names and seal on a recommendation form (fingerprinting will not be considered valid). Voters may recommend more than two independent candidates.

Getting supporting signatures from voters based on a recommendation form not officially sealed by the election commissions or from more than 500 voters for an election campaign will lead to an imprisonment of less than a year or a fine of less than 2 million Korean won according to the Public Official Election Act, Clause 4, Article 256.