On June 13th Koreans will head to the polls for local elections.
And better late than never,... rival lawmakers managed to pass a re-districting bill on Monday... the 100 day countdown to polling day.
Given this is the first election to be held since President Moon Jae-in took power last year,... watchers say the June election will be a barometer of the administration's popularity.
Kim Min-ji reports.
The National Assembly on Monday passed a long overdue redistricting bill for the June 13th local elections.
By law, the electoral map has to be finalized six months prior to the election -- meaning December 13th last year -- but political wrangling kept lawmakers from having the bill ready on time.
The new map adds a combined 27 more positions for city and provincial councilors -- except for Jeju Special Self-Governing Province and the administrative city of Sejong -- for a total of 690 posts.
As for council members -- there will be 29 more posts for a nationwide total of 2,927.

That's more than 3,600 positions up for grabs,... not counting the key posts of mayor, governor and education superintendent in 17 cities and provinces.
A mini general election is also in the works... as about 10 parliamentary seats are going to be vacant --
with some lawmakers giving up their posts to run for local office plus some who have been stripped of their position.

"With just three months left, the priorities of the rival parties will be to field the best possible candidates in hopes of at least keeping the posts they have now -- or if they're lucky, adding new ones. On top of that, it's the first nationwide poll under the Moon Jae-in administration -- meaning the results will be a barometer of how the public assesses the young government."

Preliminary registration is open for candidates running for mayor, district office chief, education superintendent and local councilor.
Registration for county council members will start in April.
Once registered,... candidates can start campaigning,... open their election offices,... and start sending material to voters in their constituencies.
Kim Min-ji, Arirang News.