The Secretary-General (Mr. Jong-Woo LEE) of the National Election Commission of the Republic of Korea and his delegation visited Mexico and Brazil to observe elections and sign an MOU.

On July 1, the delegation observed the Presidential election and Congressional elections in Mexico with the invitation from the Federal Electoral Institute of Mexico. The delegation also participated in the seminar of Mexican election observers from June 28 to June 30.

On behalf of the National Election Commission of the Republic of Korea, the Secretary General, Mr. Lee signed an MOU with Ms. Carmen Lucia, President of the Tribunal Superior Electoral of Brazil on July 3, 2012 in Brasilia.

The Secretary-General of the NEC and the president of the TSE agreed that they hope the signing of the MOU can serve as a great opportunity to contribute in developing the democracy of the both countries through cooperation such as exchanges of information and experiences in election management.

The activities that the two institutions would possibly carry out under the MOU include:

a.   hosting meetings for exchange of information and experiences involving knowledge resources, training and research;

b.   organizing international forums and events for the purpose of knowledge and experience exchanges among democratic countries;

c.   jointly publishing papers and other publications on democratic institutions and processes;

d.   promoting exchanges, assignments and visits of members of staff, practitioners and experts in matters of common interest; and

e.   Any other projects of cooperation that may be jointly decided upon by the Parties.

The president of TSE said that she is interested in the establishment of the Association of the World Election Bodies (A-WEB) headed by the NEC of Korea and hopes constant cooperation and exchanges between the two parties.