The ruling Saenuri Party will accept applications later this week from candidates running for a seat in the National Assembly or regional councils and governments in next month’s by-election, a spokesman said Monday.

The party will register candidates for the April 24 election between Thursday and Saturday, and pick its final nominees by the end of this month, according to Rep. Kim Do-eup, the spokesman of the party’s nomination committee.

“We plan to check each candidate’s suitability through on-site inquiries, interviews and public opinion surveys,” Kim said at a press briefing, after coming out of the committee’s first meeting earlier in the day.

Each candidate will be evaluated based on their election probability, ethical standards, professionalism, voter confidence in the candidate, and contributions to the party and community, Kim said.

Up for grabs are a total of three parliamentary seats in electoral districts in Seoul, the southeastern port city of Busan and the central province of South Chungcheong, as well as several seats in regional councils and governments. (Yonhap News)