South Korean police plan triple-layered security for presidential candidates

Seoul, May 19 (IANS) South Korean police said on Monday that they plan to deploy three layers of security forces to protect presidential candidates ahead of the June 3 election.

Park Hyun-soo, acting chief of the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency, announced the measure during a regular press briefing, saying six police squads will be mobilised to exclusively guard candidates during campaign rallies.

The squads will form the third layer, while the first layer will be made up of a designated security team sent by the National Police Agency. The second layer will be composed of detectives and officers from precinct police stations, Yonhap news agency reported.

"In important situations, I plan to personally command the field," Park said.

Police will also use advanced specialised gear at campaign rallies, such as bomb-sniffing dogs, anti-sniper observation equipment and special-purpose binoculars.

On election day, they plan to activate the Gapho level of the emergency duty system, the highest level, to mobilise 100 per cent of available forces.

Meanwhile, overseas voting for the South Korean June 3 presidential election is set to kick off on Tuesday for a six-day run.

A total of 258,254 overseas South Korean nationals, including those registered as absentee voters, will be eligible to vote at 223 polling stations across 118 countries from Tuesday to next Wednesday, according to the National Election Commission (NEC).

Polling stations were set up in South Korean overseas missions in Cuba, Luxembourg, Lithuania, and Estonia for the first time, where diplomatic missions were recently established.

Eligible voters unable to participate in the overseas voting or those wishing to cast their ballots in South Korea can do so on voting day if they report to regional election commissions between May 26 and June 3, the NEC said.

Meanwhile, South Korean Presidential candidates ramped up their campaigns to woo swing voters in the key battleground of Seoul, with the election just 15 days away to pick a successor to former President Yoon Suk Yeol, who was ousted over his failed martial law bid.

Democratic Party (DP) candidate Lee Jae-myung, the campaign's front-runner, met elderly voters, while People Power Party (PPP) candidate Kim Moon-soo and Lee Jun-seok of the minor New Reform Party (NRP) joined a forum in Seoul.

--IANS

int/jk/dan