Candidates' Criminal Records to be Released by April 7

The Supreme Prosecutor's Office has almost completed its report dealing with the criminal records of candidates in the upcoming general election. Of the 53 prosecutor's offices that are compiling the records, 34 had released the records by March 5, and the remaining 19, which include Seoul, Pusan, Taegu, and Inchon, plan to release them by April 7.

Sources from the prosecutor's office said, "As there are one or two unidentifiable records at four to five branch public prosecutors offices, we expect all the work to be completed by tomorrow (March 7). Therefore we will release the current results to the election committees with the exclusion of these records."

It is known that 15 percent or 170 to 180 candidates of the total 1179 general election candidates have criminal records with imprisonment or more in their sentencing.

Meanwhile, the Central Election Management Committee is planning to publicize the criminal records of candidates through its Internet homepage and district election committees on March 6.

by Choi Jae-hee