The "Conflict of Interest Prevention Act" Clears Standing Committee Hurdle... Passed After 8 Years

[Asia Economy Reporter Oh Ju-yeon] On the morning of the 22nd, the National Assembly's Legislation and Judiciary Committee passed the bill for the 'Public Officials Conflict of Interest Prevention Act.' This comes eight years after the bill was first proposed in 2013.

The scope of the Conflict of Interest Prevention Act applies to public officials, employees of public institutions, local council members, and their immediate family members. Additionally, the definition of 'public institutions' has been expanded to include 'government-affiliated agencies.' Journalists and private school faculty members will not be included under this Conflict of Interest Prevention Act. Instead, conflicts of interest for these groups will be regulated under the Private School Act and media-related laws, respectively.

The scope of confidential information related to duties has also been 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 during official duties. For executives and employees of public institutions whose main duties involve land and real estate, they must report ownership and additional purchases of related land and real estate within 14 days. Also, public officials who become aware of development activities conducted by the relevant public institution must report such information within 14 days. These provisions have been newly established.

On the day, Committee Chairperson Yoon Kwan-seok stated, "It has been regrettable that legislative achievements were not made swiftly until now," adding, "Although it is somewhat belated, after holding a public hearing on the 17th of last month, the Legislation and Judiciary Committee held eight subcommittee meetings and was able to handle the matter smoothly through bipartisan agreement."

The Conflict of Interest Prevention Act was excluded from the 'Anti-Graft and Conflict of Interest Prevention Act' submitted by the Anti-Corruption and Civil Rights Commission in 2013, and at that time, only the Anti-Graft Act (Kim Young-ran Act) was enacted.

Chairperson Jeon Hyun-hee of the Anti-Corruption and Civil Rights Commission said on the day, "This system will guarantee the fairness and transparency of public officials' duties and manage and control them to prevent pursuit of private interests, serving as an appropriate measure to prevent conflicts of interest in advance."