Candidates contesting the April 11 parliamentary elections flocked to election commission offices across the country as a two-day registration period started Thursday.

Rivals in high-profile races signed up with the National Election Commission on the first day, hoping to get a head start in campaigning. They include the ruling Saenuri Party’s Hong Sa-duk and the main opposition Democratic United Party’s Chung Sye-kyun in a race for Seoul’s Jongno seat. Saenuri-backed former prosecutor Kim Do-eup and DUP’s actor-turned-supreme member Moon Seung-keun registered their candidacy in the southern port city of Busan.

The NEC will accept candidacy registration until 6 p.m. Friday.

Those who seek to run in the April 11 election should submit a total of 12 documents detailing their personal information, political party affiliation and others, and an election deposition of 15 million won.

Once registered, candidates are allowed to campaign on a limited scale before a full-fledged campaign starts on March 29.

A total of 300 parliamentary seats, the largest number on record, will be contested. Of them, 246 are for electoral representatives. The rest will be allotted to parties on a proportional representat on basis.

Information about candidates will be available online at http://info.nec.go.kr, the NEC official said.

By Lee Sun-young (milaya@heraldcorp.com)