Anchor: The ruling People Power Party(PPP) and the main opposition Democratic Party(DP) each announced on Tuesday ten key pledges for the upcoming April 10 general elections. Both sides promised measures to tackle the country's low birth rate and the climate crisis.
Max Lee has summarized the priority policy packages.

Report: With less than a month to go until general elections to form the 22nd National Assembly, both the ruling and main opposition parties announced on Tuesday their ten key pledges, with a lot of focus on resolving the country's critically low birth rate and the climate crisis.

The ruling People Power Party(PPP) presented its ten key pledges centered on three main agendas: addressing the low birthrate, easing the widening wealth gap and responding to the climate crisis. The pledges include achieving a better work-life balance and support for small business owners and traditional market stall operators.

In tackling the low birth rate, the ruling party pledged to establish a deputy minister-level ministry on Korea’s population, to create a special account to generate resources to respond to the low number of births, and to introduce a mandatory one-month paid leave for fathers.

In order to ease the widening wealth gap, the PPP proposed reinstating a savings fund to allow workers to benefit from support from the state, as well as to expand tax exemptions for individual savings accounts.

The main opposition Democratic Party(DP), on the other hand, presented its ten key pledges centered on four major agendas: recovering people's livelihoods, providing hope for the future, protecting democracy and restoring peace. The pledges include overcoming the low birth rate and tackling the climate crisis.

On livelihood recovery, the main opposition proposed creating a residential complex of one million housing units, offering 30-thousand won, or around 23 U.S. dollars a month to young people to help cover their transportation costs, and raising the tax credit standard for earned income.

In addressing the low birth rate, the DP pledged to provide childcare support of 200-thousand won a month to families with children of up to 18 years of age, and ten-year loans worth 100 million won for newlyweds.

It will be up to the voters to decide come April 10, which party they trust to follow through with their pledges and benefit society as a whole.
Max Lee, KBS World Radio News.