The National Election Commission (NEC) announced that candidate registration for the 1st Nationwide Simultaneous Elections for Heads of Korean Federation of Community Credit Cooperatives (hereinafter referred to as the KFCC Elections), scheduled for March 5 (Wednesday), will commence on January 21.

The registration period for preliminary candidates will run until February 17, the day before the official candidate registration begins. Applications will be accepted daily, excluding public holidays, from 9:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m.

The preliminary candidate system allows limited election campaigning even before the official campaign period, providing opportunities for new candidates to introduce themselves to voters. Previously, this system was available only for elections of the President of the Korean Federation of Community Credit Cooperatives. However, following the 2024 amendment to the Act on Elections Entrusted to Public Organizations (hereinafter referred to as the Entrusted Election Act), it has also been implemented for the KFCC Elections.

To register as a preliminary candidate, individuals must submit the preliminary candidate registration form, documentation verifying eligibility under relevant laws or bylaws, and other required documents to the competent district, city, or county election commission. Additionally, they must pay a deposit equivalent to 20% of the candidate registration deposit.

Individuals who wish to register as preliminary candidates must resign from their positions if they are employees or executives of the relevant credit cooperative, delegates or executives of other cooperatives, by the day before submitting their registration. However, the head of the relevant cooperative running for re-election is exempt from this resignation requirement.

Preliminary candidates may designate one campaign worker and one assistant (limited to candidates with disabilities as defined by NEC regulations) from among the members of the cooperative who are not employees or executives of the relevant cooperative.

Preliminary candidates, campaign workers, and assistants may engage in election activities through the following methods permitted under the Entrusted Election Act:

- Telephone calls and text messages

- Online communication networks

- Distribution of campaign cards at events publicly announced in advance by the KFCC

- Policy presentations at public events

* Assistants are limited to distributing campaign cards and may not participate in policy presentations, which are reserved for preliminary candidates only.

For inquiries regarding the requirements for preliminary candidate registration or permissible election campaign activities, individuals may call the NEC hotline at 1390 or contact the competent district, city, or county election commission.

With the start of preliminary candidate registration, the KFCC Elections are officially underway. The NEC has pledged to work closely with the KFCC, ensuring that election procedures are conducted fairly and accurately to guarantee the successful management of the elections.