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The 5th of November is the date of the next country presidential election, one that I hope to be remembered. One that will hopefully be a turn in the right direction.

Currently, Korea is a sleepy nation stuck in a rut. Progress is slow because everything is being done by one person. No matter how well intended this person is, one person is incapable of making all the changes Korea needs.

That is why I, Sirius Padfoot Black, am announcing my candidacy for country President. I want to put Korea back into the citizens hands, so they can work along side government officials to get the job done. This is also why I have drafted a stellar cabinet, which I will announce once I get confirmation from everyone proposed. Should things go as planned, there will be people representing many different demographics of our community. RL Koreans, not RL Koreans, newer players, older players, one thing that they all hold in common is that they want the best for our country, and have demonstrated the desire to participate.

I have many ambitions that I firmly believe will make Korea a better place. I will outline a few of the key policies that I want to hold to.

Creating Government Jobs and programs:
The current Grease administration is comprised of three positions. I aim to expand this three to several more. I would like to be prepared and have a staff that can handle anything. I also plan the have understudy/trainee positions available in most ministries. First off, this gets more people involved in government. It raises a future generation of people prepared to fill Ministries, and teaches us about what the responsibilities and duties of each ministry are. Also it takes some of the work load off of the head of ministries, and we’re prepared in the event a minister can no longer fulfill his responsibilities.

Boost Participation and Activity:
Participation is one of the biggest areas of improvement needed. The IRC is slowly crawling back to activity, which is great. I also strongly support the Golden Pen Award, and would like to see this expanded on, improving the system and bettering the way it engages it's citizens.

But things are not going as effectively as I would like. The IRC should be a regularly active place where people can discuss all things eSK, not a place where I have seen a simple "hi" go unanswered for hours.

The Golden Pen award is something that I feel is an amazing contribution to our society, and I greatly commend Grease and the MiraiCorp for its addition. It promotes activity in a fun, friendly-competitive way. Just what we needed. Which is why I would like to have this idea expanded upon. I think creating a weekly prompt (Song/poem, integration with pop-culture, RP article, Sunocracy article, etc.), for which a third prize is given, would give those newer citizens a jumping-on point. For some, the media is intimidating and they don't know where to start writing, but hopefully this would give them a point of focus from which to begin their media career.

The barrier created by language in Korea, is a difficult wall to tackle. In the past translator teams went insane trying to translate so many articles. What I'm proposing as a start, is that the winning golden pen articles at least received a translated summary. Right now RL Koreans and the English speakers don't really know what the other is thinking, and I think this would begin chiseling down that wall. Other steps will be taken, as the term progresses.

And the point of our activity that suffers the most, is the National Forum. I'd like to put in new administrators/moderators, to keep up with the country. Until very recently there was a line of citizens waiting to get masked, making the forums potential limited. I also know over the last month, that virtually nobody, not even those who had masked used the forum. Fortunately, Alfagrem handed over his administrative powers to Veritas, who is already making the changes we have been needing for so long. He has given each party their own sub-forum, hopefully making parties actually mean something for once. At the national forum, people can help write their party’s platform or talk to their government, or even just socialize. The many uses of the forum are very broad. The eSK forums should be a common realm that unites all of it's citizens.

United as Korea:
Something that Ive been trying to do long before I began this campaign is to try and unify the community. Its been a reoccurring theme in everything I have written. That is one of the many reasons I recreated the solar temple. In the past, it was something that brought the community together. Not everyone believed in it, but everyone appreciated the effects it had, in bringing the best out of everyone. I hope it will do the same today. I would like to continue this idea, and do whatever I can to bring us all together. Not everybody has to go around carrying the same ideas as everyone else, but so long as everyone puts themselves forward to help our country, I think we will all notice a difference. I want our country to act United as Korea, Divided as Individuals.

Give Congress Back it's Voice:
Over the last few terms, congress has been quiet. Barely a blip on the average citizens radar, nobody really knows what they are doing. There are several ways in which I would like to tackle this problem.

The First is the national forum as mentioned above needs an activity boost. I'd like to return the forum to what it's supposed to be. I want true discussions to be held and debates to be had. This is a place that congress should use regularly, to work out plans, and save proposals. Over the last month there was a total of one thread created by the national assembly, and it only received four replies. I'd also like to make this a forum in which anyone with a citizen mask can view, and watch our policies be made. This will give the country an insight on our political procedures, and maybe even spark some political interest in citizens who could be our future politicians.

The second thing that will help congress return to a powerful stance in politics, is reinstate the position of Congressional Speaker. This position will report in regular articles, what current issues congress is dealing with, assess the progress, and be congresses tangible connection the the rest of Korea. This prevents congress from being a vague, distant entity, and makes it a dynamic group of people working to make Korea a better place.

Korea in Global Politics:
Getting involved in these super alliances is a condition in which we receive no benefit. Becoming involved in the bigotry that is a super alliance is something which only draws an unwanted target onto ourselves, and may wrap us into these wars of greed. As president, I will make sure we keep our neutrality that Korea has became so beloved for. Small countries, such as ourselves become pawns for super alliances, as buffer zones for their wars. But we are not pawns. Our future diplomatic relations will be based on strengthening relations with countries that are our friends, and willing to help us.

Also, I intend to keep the war between Lesser East Korea (Japan) and us open. It serves no benefit to either country to close the war. Having a war open, does not put us at risk, because Lesser East Korea (Japan) has no resources by which to fuel their attacks. And should we ever need to fight back with Lesser East Korea (Japan), the war will already be open and thus will save the expense of opening it back up.

Embrace Critics:
And unlike other administrations, should I get elected, I encourage you to speak out against me and my cabinet. It is the citizens right and responsibility to express any concerns or grievances, you may have. I want to hear what you have to say, so we can work together and do what's right. Your government is here to serve you, not the other way around. If we're not meeting your standards, let us know and we'll do our best to address your concerns.

I hope that my administration and I are the change that this country needs. To give the people a new option, an option set on progress, ambition, and unity.