KCCI Analyzes Status of 37 Legislative Tasks Needed to Foster Corporate Innovation Ecosystem
10 Completed, 27 Unresolved... Unresolved More Than Twice the Completed
Half of Unresolved Tasks Have Not Even Been Proposed
[Asia Economy Reporter Hwang Yoon-joo] The Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry (KCCI) has urged the prompt enactment of innovative bills ahead of the National Assembly's full-scale legislative discussions. It was found that the number of tasks awaiting legal amendments to ease corporate regulations is more than twice the number of completed tasks. Half of the tasks awaiting legal amendments are pending in the National Assembly's standing committees, while the other half have not even been proposed.
According to the KCCI on the 24th, an analysis of the legislative progress of a total of 37 bills necessary for corporate innovation and KCCI sandbox projects requiring follow-up legal adjustments revealed that 10 tasks have completed legal amendments, while 27 remain unresolved, showing that unresolved tasks are more than twice as many. Among the unresolved tasks, 13 are pending in standing committees, and 14 have not been proposed.
Although some bills have been enacted after being proposed, the majority of tasks have not even been discussed yet. The Framework Act on the Development of the Service Industry is a representative example. This bill has been consistently proposed for about 10 years since the 18th National Assembly but has repeatedly faced controversy over medical privatization, preventing progress in discussions and leading to its expiration without enactment. In the current 21st National Assembly, the bill was proposed and a public hearing was held last February, but no further discussions have taken place since.
The amendment to the Electronic Financial Transactions Act is similar. Recently, digital financial innovations such as MyPayment have been actively pursued, especially by fintech companies. To promote this, an amendment to the Electronic Financial Transactions Act, which lowers entry barriers such as capital requirements for electronic financial businesses and reorganizes the licensing system, was proposed in November last year. Although half a year has passed since its proposal, it has only been submitted three times to the Legislative Subcommittee of the Political Affairs Committee, the relevant standing committee, with no substantial discussion.
In addition, 13 other bills, including the Act on the Promotion of Drone Utilization (proposed by Assemblyman Kim Min-cheol, etc.), which aims to rationalize drone flight approval procedures by establishing a permanent cooperation system with military units and local governments, and the Act on the Promotion of Digital Transformation (proposed by Assemblyman Jo Jung-sik, etc.), which lays the foundation for industrial data utilization, are waiting to be discussed in standing committees.
Most Unproposed Tasks Are 'Follow-up Legislation for Sandbox'
It was found that 14 innovative bills have not even been proposed yet. In particular, most of the unproposed tasks are follow-up legislative bills related to projects approved under the sandbox.
Various innovative business models, from non-face-to-face medical services that have been pilot projects for decades to autonomous robots usable in delivery and patrol services, have opened business opportunities through the sandbox, but more companies need to go through National Assembly legislation to benefit.
Tasks that need to be addressed are accumulating, such as the Medical Service Act, which prohibits non-face-to-face medical treatment, and the Road Traffic Act, which defines autonomous robots as vehicles and prohibits their passage on sidewalks, but related laws have not even been discussed.
Kang Min-jae, head of the KCCI Sandbox Management Team, said, "Even if legislative tasks are completed, subordinate regulations still need to be adjusted, so it takes a long time until all related laws are fully revised," adding, "For tasks still undergoing sandbox testing, if safety is somewhat proven, it is necessary to proactively start legislative discussions."
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