The Chairperson of the National Election Commission of the Republic of Korea, Mr. Nung-Hwan Kim who doubles as the Chairperson of the Association of Asian Election Authorities, visited the UN headquarters and exchanged opinions on the preparation for the establishment of the Association of World Election Bodies (A-WEB) and other issues with United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon on August 27.

Mr. Kim and Mr. Ban agreed that the A-WEB will be able to play a pivotal role in promoting exchanges of experiences on elections among member countries and strengthen capacity-building and expertise of election bodies, as they mention the electoral support for emerging democracies and nations in transition from the NEC and UN. Mr. Ban also hoped that as many election bodies as possible can participate in the A-WEB, as he said the United Nations will do its efforts to provide possible assistance in the future. Mr. Ban wished the successful Global Electoral Organization Conference to be held in October, 2013 (provisional period).

Add to that, on the same day, Mr. Olav Kjorven, United Nations Assistant Secretary-General and Director of UNDP´s Bureau for Development Policy, expressed his active support for the establishment of A-WEB. He also stressed out that UNDP has already jointed the Working Group for the establishment of A-WEB and will continue to give a support for the successful establishment of A-Web as giving out constructive opinions for the cause.

The Association of World Election Bodies (A-WEB) aims at contributing in supporting the development of democracy in the world through promoting exchanges of election-related information, knowledge, and experiences and providing systematic support for developing countries, as the supreme international organization on elections where election bodies of each nation and election-related international organizations take part in.

In October of 2011, the NEC proposed to establish the Association of World Election Bodies (A-WEB) at the Foundation Forum for the Establishment of A-WEB and earned the support of the participants from 23 election bodies and international organizations over the world.

In May of 2012, the NEC held the 1^st Working Group meeting in Seoul, as it formed a working group with a variety of organizations in order to make it more representative for the world: including regional election-related associations: the Association of Asian Election Authorities (AAEA); Association of European Election Officials (ACEEEO); Association of Caribbean Electoral Organizations (ACEO); Southern African Development Community Parliamentary Forum (SADC PF); Inter-American Union of Electoral Organization (UNIORE); and election-related international organizations: the Electoral Institute for Sustainable Democracy in Africa (EISA); International Foundation for Electoral Systems (IFES); International Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance (International IDEA); and United Nations Development Program (UNDP).

At the 1^st Working Group meeting, participants reached an agreement on the vision and mission of A-WEB. On September 13, the 2^nd Working Group meeting will take place in Sarajevo and the membership, roles, organization and finance will be discussed.

The NEC plans to co-host the Global Electoral Organization (GEO) Conference with UNDP in Seoul in October, 2013. At the conference, it will report results of working group meetings for the establishment of A-WEB at the GEO Conference and host an inaugural assembly of A-WEB to declare the establishment during the same period.