Anchor: The 13-day official campaign period for the April 10 general elections kicked off at midnight on Thursday. Ruling People Power Party(PPP) interim leader Han Dong-hoon and officials of the party's election committee began campaigning at Garak Market in Seoul's eastern district of Songpa when the clock struck midnight. Main opposition Democratic Party(DP) leader Lee Jae-myung started off campaigning in Gyeyang B district in Incheon, where he is seeking to retain his parliamentary seat.
Choi You Sun reports.

Report: Launching the ruling People Power Party's(PPP) official campaign for the April 10 general elections at Seoul's Garak Market at 12:00 a.m. Thursday, PPP interim leader Han Dong-hoon asked voters to give the ruling party the opportunity to speak and work for the everyday working people.

Meeting with stall merchants, Han said he wanted to begin the campaign alongside people sweating and working hard.

The PPP interim chief then apologized to the merchants for the protracted inflation, stressing that the upcoming elections will determine whether the nation will advance forward or roll backwards.

Main opposition Democratic Party(DP) leader Lee Jae-myung opened the party’s official campaign by meeting with voters at a subway station in his constituency of Incheon's Gyeyang B, where he is seeking a second term.

Onboard a stumping truck, Lee urged the people to use their votes to pass judgment on the Yoon Suk Yeol administration at the polls, calling the administration an "anti-democracy group" that looks down on the public.

The DP's election committee, for its part, held a ceremony at Yongsan Station Plaza near the presidential office to mark the start of its campaign.

Earlier, the minor Green Justice Party visited the site of the 2022 Itaewon crowd crush to call for judgment on the administration, while former DP leader Lee Nak-yon's New Future Party, on a visit to a market in the early hours, promised to give priority to people’s livelihoods.

Former PPP leader Lee Jun-seok's New Reform Party pledged institutional support and to look after people's livelihoods while visiting the fire station in Seoul's Yeongdeungpo District.

Rebuilding Korea Party leader Cho Kuk began his party campaign at Busan Station, vowing to bring about a political sensation in the southeastern port city, the epicenter of the 1979 Busan-Masan Uprising against former President Park Chung-hee's dictatorship.
Choi You Sun, KBS World Radio News.