The NEC released 10 core policies of political parties taking part in the 19^th National Assembly elections which will be held on April 11. The NEC also opened the parties’ stances towards the major policy issues to the public.

The information released includes these parties’ opinions on the major policy issues of the economy/ livelihood of the public, society/welfare, politics/administration and diplomacy/national security. The information also includes the 10 core policies presented by the parties and has been submitted on request of the NEC.

It is believed that the information release will enable the public to easily compare and assess policies presented by the parties and candidates for the coming National Assembly elections. It will also help to increase public interest in policy-oriented elections.

In addition, the NEC, from March 26, will release core policies submitted by the candidates in each local district through the website (http://party.nec.go.kr). The NEC also plans to carry out a policy-oriented election campaign by designating April 4 to 7 as a “Week for learning about policies and pledges”. This is to enable voters to understand the pledges made by the parties and candidates and will help the public to establish their own standards for selecting parties and candidates when voting.

The NEC currently runs the “Pledge Bank” on its website through which voters will be able to personally suggest election pledges.

The NEC made it clear that the NEC would constantly take efforts to build a public consensus for the 19^th National Assembly elections to be held in the form of policy-oriented elections. The NEC requested the parties and candidates to present feasible policies and pledges for the sake of voters and compete through policies. The NEC also asked voters to thoroughly compare policies and pledges and wisely select those who have presented reasonable policies and will act on them.