The 19th presidential election in South Korea is in full swing as the registration period for candidates is slated for April 15-16.

The candidate registration for the May 9 presidential election is held for two days -- from Saturday to Sunday -- or 24 days before the polling day under the electoral law, according to the National Election Commission.

The five major presidential contenders said they will register for candidacy on the first day of registration, starting off the presidential election in earnest. Moon Jae-in of the liberal Democratic Party of Korea, Hong Joon-pyo of the conservative Liberty Korea Party, Ahn Cheol-soo of the centrist People’s Party and Sim Sang-jeung of the progressive Justice Party are planning to register through their proxies, and only Yoo Seong-min of the conservative Bareun Party is scheduled to visit the NEC by himself for registration.

In particular, Ahn has revealed his decision to resign from the National Assembly as soon as he registers as a presidential candidate.

The “official” presidential campaign will kick off Monday for a 22-day run until 11:59 p.m., May 8. Each candidate will compete to win people’s votes in various methods, using newspapers or broadcast advertisements, street campaigns, phone calls and the internet.

Voters, except civil servants, foreigners and citizens under 19 with no right to vote, may also campaign through text messages or social media until May 8, the last day of the run-up to the election.

Prior to the May 9 election, the registered overseas voters can cast their ballots in their host countries for six days from April 25-30.

The two-day early voting for citizens involving those residing in the country will take place from May 4-5, and shipboard voting for fishermen will be held from May 1-4.

By Byun Hee-jin (hjbandi9@heraldcorp.com)