April 14 Political Affairs Committee Subcommittee Agreement Between Ruling and Opposition Parties
Ruling Party: "Will Definitely Pass in April National Assembly"
[Asia Economy Reporter Oh Ju-yeon] The Public Officials Conflict of Interest Prevention Act bill has passed the National Assembly's Political Affairs Committee's bill review subcommittee. This comes eight years after the bill was first proposed, and just over a month after urging the swift passage of the bill in March to prevent a recurrence of the Korea Land and Housing Corporation (LH) scandal.
Due to the public outrage over 'real estate speculation' following the LH scandal, both ruling and opposition parties agreed on the necessity of the bill. However, with the April 7 by-elections approaching, the subcommittee met five times last month but the bill's passage was delayed. At the subcommittee meeting held on March 31, key issues such as the scope of public officials, inclusion of journalists and private school faculty, and the range of confidential information were debated, but all were resolved through bipartisan agreement this time.
On the 14th, the second bill review subcommittee of the Political Affairs Committee approved the Public Officials Conflict of Interest Prevention Act bill through bipartisan consensus.
The scope of application for the Conflict of Interest Prevention Act, which was a contentious issue, includes public officials, employees of public institutions, local council members, and their immediate family members. Additionally, the definition of 'public institutions' was expanded to include 'government-affiliated agencies.'
The opposition party, which was skeptical about including journalists and private school faculty among public officials, agreed not to include them in this Conflict of Interest Prevention Act. Instead, these groups will be regulated for conflict of interest situations under the Private School Act and media-related laws, respectively.
The scope of confidential information was also expanded to 'non-public information obtained through official duties.' Furthermore, the regulations will apply for three years after retirement, prohibiting the use of non-public information acquired through work.
Kim Byung-wook, the ruling party's secretary, explained to reporters on the day, "The ban on family hiring will be extended to subsidiaries of affiliated agencies, and special-related business operators will be included among those restricted from transactions." He also stated, "Employees of public institutions whose main duties involve land and real estate must report ownership and additional purchases within 14 days, and public officials who become aware of development activities conducted by the institution must report within 14 days. This provision has been newly established."
If the Conflict of Interest Prevention Act passes the National Assembly in April as planned, approximately 1.87 million public officials and employees of public institutions will be subject to the law. Including immediate family members, the number is expected to exceed 5 million.
The ruling party intends to ensure the final passage of the Conflict of Interest Prevention Act in this month's National Assembly session.
On the same day, the Democratic Party issued a statement saying, "It is a reality that public officials have abused their authority and superior positions to pursue private interests, undermining public trust in the public service." They explained, "The enactment of the Conflict of Interest Prevention Act was created to restore public trust in the public service and to eradicate public officials' pursuit of private interests."
They added, "The Democratic Party will focus on the review and approval by the Legislation and Judiciary Committee and the passage in the plenary session to ensure the Conflict of Interest Prevention Act is passed in the April National Assembly session."
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