Candidate registration for the April 10 general elections to select the 300-member 22nd National Assembly began nationwide on Thursday.

The National Election Commission(NEC) office at each electoral district will accept registrations for two days, after which voters will be able to look up online each candidates' assets, military duty fulfillment, criminal record, level of education and tax payments.

The 13-day official campaign period begins on March 28 and runs through April 9. Eligible voters outside the country can cast their ballots from overseas between March 27 and April 1, while advance voting in the country will be held from April 5 to 6.

By-elections for 45 municipal seats, including mayorship of the southeastern city of Miryang and the ward chief post for Daejeon's Jung District will also be held on April 10.

The ruling People Power Party(PPP) has appealed to voters to use their votes to slam the main opposition Democratic Party(DP) for obstructing the administration from taking care of state affairs through abuse of its majority in parliament.

The DP, for its part, is seeking for the people to cast their ballots to condemn the administration over its failure to improve people’s livelihoods, stressing the need for the party to keep the government in check.