party member. Therefore, the President generally maintains party membership after being elected as the President and also retains an affiliation with such particular political party. Current law also provides that the President may maintain party membership (Article 6(1) of the Political Party Act) and thus permits party activities, unlike in the case of other career public officials who are not allowed to be a member of a political party. However, the President is not an institution that implements the policies of the ruling party, but instead, the President is the constitutional institution that is obligated to serve and realize the public interest as the head of the executive branch. The President is not the President merely for part of the population or a certain particular political faction that supported him or her at the past election, but he or she is the President of the entire community organized as the state and is the President for the entire constituents. The President is obligated to unify the social community by serving the entire population beyond that segment of the population supporting him or her. The status of the President as the servant of the entire public is specified, in the context of election, as the status of ultimately overseeing a fair election, and the Public Officials Election Act therefore prohibits a political campaign by the President (Article 60(1)(iv) of the Public Officials Election Act). Therefore, neither the fact that the President is a public official of a political nature who is elected through nomination and support by a political party nor the fact that certain political and party activities of the President are permitted can serve as a valid ground for denying the obligation owed by the President to maintain political neutrality concerning elections. (C) The President's 'obligation of political neutrality' concerning elections and 'freedom to express political opinions' Every person in public office is obligated to maintain political neutrality concerning elections; on the other hand, at the same time such person is a citizen of the state and is subject of basic rights who may assert his or her own basic rights against the state. Likewise, in the case of the presidency, the status of the President as a private citizen who may perform party activities for the party of his of her membership and the status of the President as a constitutional institution bearing the obligation to serve the entire population and the public welfare should be distinguished as two distinct concepts. The mandate that the President should maintain political neutrality concerning elections does not require no political activities or indifference to party politics on the part of the President. Unlike other public officials who are prevented from any party activities, the - 173 -