Complaints of loud noise and illegal parking by political canvassing trucks of candidates are mounting across the country as official campaigning for the upcoming local elections and parliamentary by-elections kicked off Thursday.



“The theme songs blaring from the trucks reach my apartment. I understand it is the election period, but it seems like there is no regulation,” Kim Jang-eun, 37, told The Korea Herald.



Remodeled trucks with loudspeakers crisscrossing neighborhoods while blaring music and chants encouraging voters to support candidates are common during campaigning, but more citizens appear to be finding them a nuisance.





Canvassing trucks are parked in front of the entrance to the Dobongsan trail in Seoul on Sunday. (Yonhap)



“I think the noise problem pops up every election season, but nothing has changed. As far as I can remember, I think they were there when I was in my 20s,” the Seoul resident said.



While there are laws that prevent protests and rallies from causing noise above a certain decibel, there is no regulation on the level of sound for election canvassing.



According to Article 79 of the election law, candidates are allowed to use portable public address equipment and loudspeakers installed on vehicles. The law only limits the hours that the amplifiers can be used: The loudspeakers on vehicles can be used from 7 a.m. to 9 p.m. and portable amplifiers from 6 a.m. to 11 p.m.



“We all know it is the local elections season. And it is not like I will change my vote because of the theme songs or candidates shouting into the microphone,” Yun Doo-wool, an office worker from Dongjak-gu, Seoul, told The Korea Herald. “I think there should be a rule to prevent playing such loud music for more than five minutes.”



There are also complaints about the colorful remodeled trucks with photographs of candidates illegally parking on roadsides, sidewalks and crosswalks.



While such parking is clearly against the traffic law, it often goes unpunished by police or local governments during election periods.



“It is illegal for these canvassing trucks to park on those spots, but police officers often think it is OK because it is the campaign period, and do not regulate them,” a police official told a local news outlet.





Election campaign workers dance in front of a canvassing truck parked near Sindorim Station in Seoul on Sunday. (Yonhap)