The National Election Commission (NEC) established the National Election Broadcasting Debates Commissions (NEBDC) in 2004 according to the Article 8-7 (National Election Broadcasting Debates Commission) of the Public Official Election Act to fairly manage and operate interviews and debates according to the Article 82-2 (Interview and Debates managed by the National Election Broadcasting Debates Commission) and policy debates according to the Article 82-3 (Policy Debates managed by the National Election Broadcasting Debates Commission).

The Election Broadcasting Debates Commission (EBDC) is organized in each Si/Do and Gu/Si/Gun. Si/Do EBDCs are composed of 9 members (11 people in the case of the NEBDC) or less. Commission members are drawn from multiple sources of manpower. These include one person each from political parties which have a negotiation body within the National Assembly and public broadcasters. Other Commissioners include individuals endorsed by the Korean Broadcasting Commission, academic and legal circles, and civic groups, who are known for their high academic and ethical standards. Their 3 year term of office is guaranteed.

Each EBDC (whether National, Si/Do or Gu/Si/Gun) has one chairperson who is elected among Commissioners. A political party member shall not be a Commissioner of an NEBDC. The National Election Broadcasting Debates Commission (NEBDC) has a full-time Commissioner who is appointed by the National Election Commission.

• Manage the Interviews and Candidate Debates

  - Presidential election and elections for proportional representation members of the National Assembly
  - Elections of Heads of Si/Do Governments and proportional representation members of Si/Do Councils
  - Elections for local district representatives of the National Assembly and heads of Gu/Si/Gun Governments

• Manage Policy Debates

  - Policy debates according to the Public Official Election Act
  - Policy debates according to the Political Parties Act

• Provide education and training to nurture a debate culture among citizens
• Work with the media to facilitate interviews and debates among candidates

• Research and develop debate techniques

As a formal type of argument, a debate requires giving an equal opportunity and time to people by imposing a certain format that encourage specific issues to be argued systematically. A TV debates has the following two aspects:

• In terms of a political debate, if candidates participate in a TV debate, they can present their policies or plans or oppose the opinions of other candidates. This helps voters choose a proper candidate. The process promotes a political debate and is a basis of democracy.
• A TV debate is considered as an opportunity for voters to examine policies and images of candidates.

• According to the Public Official Election Act and the Political Parties Act, the types of Election Broadcasting Debates managed by the NEBDC are described in the table below.

  Presidential Election

  Commission Level	Type	Election	Times for Debate	Number of times	Relevant Law
  National	Candidate Debates	Presidential Election	Campaign Period	Three or more	Article 82-2 of Public Office Election Act
  		Elections for Proportional Representation Members of the National Assembly	Campaign Period	Two or more
  	Policy Debates for Public Office Election	Elections held following the expiration of term of office	From 90 days before Election Day to a day before Candidate Registration	Once per Month or More	Article 82-3 of Public Office Election Act
  	Policy Debates of Political Parties	All Year Round	At any time except within 90 days prior to an election	Two or more per year	Article 39 of Political Party Act
  Si/Do	Candidate Debates	Elections for Heads of Si/Do Governments and proportional representation members of Si/Do Council	Campaign Period	One or more for each	Article 82-2 of Public Office Election Act
  Gu/Si/Gun	Candidate Debates and Joint Broadcast Campaign Speech Meetings	Elections for local district representatives of the National Assembly and heads of Gu/Si/Gun Governments	Campaign Period	One or more for each