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Promises are Promises? A Study of Campaign Promise Fulfillment among South Korean Legislators, 2008–2012

Korea Journal / Korea Journal, (P)0023-3900; (E)2733-9343
2017, v.57 no.1, pp.65-89
https://doi.org/10.25024/kj.2017.57.1.65
(University of Wisconsin – River Falls)
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Abstract

In democracies, campaign promises are considered important indictors that voters use to make voting decisions. Despite its normative and theoretical importance in elections and campaigns, breaking a campaign promise has been rather frequent among elected officials. What affects this tendency of legislators to break or keep their campaign promises? By using campaign promise data compiled by one of the largest NGOs in South Korea over the past four years (2008–2012), this article attempts to explain what factors lead South Korean legislators to more or less keep their promises. The findings suggest that legislative committees and policy issues promised in a campaign, along with an individual legislator’s legislative action in the National Assembly, significantly affect the fulfillment of such promises.

keywords
South Korea, campaign promise fulfillment, South Korean legislators, policy issues, legislative committee

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