Anchor: Ruling and opposition parties are kicking into high gear in preparation for the Seoul and Busan mayoral by-elections, set to be held on April 7. Attention is being paid to how sexual harassment allegations that prompted the long-standing mayoral vacancies in the nation's two largest cities are affecting voters, as well as the parties' strategies to win. 
Moon Gwang-lip has more. 

Report: With the by-elections to choose mayors in Seoul and Busan less than three months away, the rival parties are gearing up efforts to prepare for the crucial polls.  

The ruling Democratic Party(DP) is set to begin its primary procedures this week with the candidacy registration process open for three days from Wednesday. Its candidate selection committee on Friday will then confirm how to review the candidates' qualifications and conduct interviews. 

The main opposition People Power Party(PPP), which from early on has set its eyes on both formerly DP-affiliated mayoral seats, plans to announce on Tuesday who will be allowed to compete in its primary among a long list of hopefuls. 

The shortlist will come after the party interviewed 14 candidates bidding for Seoul mayor on Sunday and is set to do the same with nine Busan mayor hopefuls on Monday. 

Based on the interviews, as well as written reviews, which began last week, the conservative party plans to announce the most qualified candidates, four each for Seoul and Busan, on Tuesday. Those selected will then vie against each other in the party's primary expected to occur in March. 

The two mayoral seats have remained vacant for months since separate allegations of sexual harassment hit former Seoul and Busan Mayors Park Won-soon and Oh Keo-don. Park, who was serving his third-term as Seoul mayor, committed suicide in July amid the allegation being made public, while Oh, a first-term mayor, stepped down in April. 

In addition, on Monday, minor progressive Justice Party chief Kim Jong-cheol resigned unexpectedly, admitting that he sexually harassed fellow party lawmaker Jang Hye-yeong.  

The PPP is labeling the scandals as a typical example of hypocrisy that it claims is characteristic of the progressives and seeking to ensure that whoever becomes its candidates will not be implicated in such scandals.  

The ruling party, which initially promised not to field any candidates for the upcoming by-elections to take responsibility for the scandals, backtracked, citing the potential impact on the presidential election. The DP is still trying to ensure a thorough screening process to field ethical and qualified candidates. 

In the development that some observers do not see as coincidental, women are being considered leading candidates for both parties in the Seoul mayoral election. Park Young-sun, a four-term DP lawmaker who resigned as SMEs and Startup minister last week, is expected to announce her bid for the post on Tuesday and will likely win the DP primary. 

Former PPP Floor Leader Na Kyung-won is leading public polls as the likely PPP candidate for Seoul mayor although former Mayor Oh Se-hoon is posing a growing challenge. 

Whoever is confirmed as candidates for the parties will face competition against minor People's Party chief Ahn Cheol-soo either during the April elections or in the process to field a unified candidate from the opposition bloc. 
Moon Gwang-lip, KBS World Radio News.