Passage of 103 Bills Including the Malicious Landlord Disclosure Act in the National Assembly

Restriction Law on Lease Fraudsters Registering as Rental Business Operators Passed
98 Bills Including Government Organization Act Passed
Resolution Adopted to Withdraw Japan's Sado Mine World Heritage Reinscription

The amendment to the Housing and Urban Fund Act, which includes the disclosure of personal information of malicious landlords who habitually fail to return jeonse deposits, passed the National Assembly plenary session on the 27th.

On the afternoon of the same day, the National Assembly resolved a total of 103 agenda items, including 98 bills such as this amendment, at the plenary session. The amendment to the Housing and Urban Fund Act allows the disclosure of personal information of landlords who habitually fail to repay tenant deposits that the Korea Housing & Urban Guarantee Corporation (HUG) has paid on their behalf due to their failure to fulfill the obligation to return jeonse deposits, through internet websites and other means.

Resolution of 98 bills including the Housing and Urban Fund Act

Lee Jae-myung, leader of the Democratic Party of Korea, is making a personal statement regarding the submission of a motion for his arrest at the plenary session held at the National Assembly in Yeouido, Seoul on the 27th. Photo by Kim Hyun-min kimhyun81@

The disclosure targets are those who have failed to repay a total of 200 million KRW or more in tenant deposits and have failed to fulfill the obligation to return tenant deposits in two or more cases within three years from the date of occurrence of the subrogation debt.

For jeonse fraudsters, a special law amendment on private rental housing that restricts the registration of rental business operators also passed the National Assembly plenary session. The amendment restricts the registration of rental business operators if they have been sentenced to imprisonment or heavier penalties for fraud due to failure to return deposits, cancels the registration of existing rental business operators, and prohibits re-registration for two years.

The National Assembly also passed an amendment to the Local Tax Special Cases Act that exempts acquisition tax up to 2 million KRW regardless of income if the actual transaction price of the house is 1.2 billion KRW or less when purchasing a home for the first time in one's life. Previously, the tax reduction benefit was only given when purchasing a house priced at 400 million KRW or less in the metropolitan area or 300 million KRW or less in non-metropolitan areas for households with a combined annual income of 70 million KRW or less, but the criteria have been significantly revised to expand the beneficiaries.

The National Assembly also passed an amendment to the Act on the Promotion of the Game Industry, which mandates game companies to disclose probability information of probability-type items in games. Companies that produce, distribute, or provide games must display the types of probability-type items and the supply probability information for each type on the game itself, websites, advertisements, etc. If a game company fails to display this information or displays false information, the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism can issue a correction order, and failure to comply with the order may result in imprisonment for up to two years or a fine of up to 20 million KRW.

Establishment of the Overseas Koreans Office and Amendment of the Government Organization Act Nine Months After the Launch of the Yoon Suk-yeol Administration

Additionally, an amendment to the Government Organization Act, which upgrades the Veterans Affairs Office to the Ministry of Patriots and Veterans Affairs and establishes the Overseas Koreans Office under the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, was also passed. The Government Organization Act was amended about nine months after the launch of the Yoon Suk-yeol administration and will take effect three months after promulgation.

According to the amendment, the Veterans Affairs Office will be upgraded to the Ministry of Patriots and Veterans Affairs to strengthen veterans' functions such as courtesy and support for national merit recipients and their families and to promote more efficient veterans policies. The newly established Ministry of Patriots and Veterans Affairs will be the ninth among administrative ministries. Upon promotion to a ministry, the head of the organization will change from the director of the Veterans Affairs Office to the minister of the Ministry of Patriots and Veterans Affairs. The amendment also includes the establishment of the Overseas Koreans Office to systematically and comprehensively formulate and implement overseas Korean policies. The Overseas Koreans Foundation, a public institution under the Ministry of Foreign Affairs currently handling these tasks, will be abolished.

An amendment to the Personal Information Protection Act to prevent privacy infringement by drones and autonomous vehicles also passed the National Assembly. The amendment to the Act on the Promotion of Mutual Growth between Large and Small Enterprises, which passed the National Assembly on the same day, includes key provisions to impose penalty points on consignment companies that violate the law in consignment transactions, and if the penalty points exceed a certain standard, the Minister of SMEs and Startups can request restrictions on participation in public office bids. Other bills passed at the plenary session include an amendment to the Small Claims Judgment Act requiring reasons to be stated even for small claims cases, and an amendment to the Act on the Promotion of Saving and Recycling Resources adding lodging businesses with 50 or more rooms to the list of industries subject to disposable product usage regulations.

Resolution Adopted to Withdraw Japan’s Reapplication for Sado Mine World Heritage Registration

In addition, the National Assembly adopted a resolution titled "Withdrawal of the Japanese Government’s Reapplication for Sado Mine World Heritage Registration and Urging Compliance with UNESCO Recommendations on Japan’s Modern Industrial Facilities."

Last year, the Japanese government attempted to register the Sado Mine, a site of forced labor of Koreans during the Japanese colonial period, as a World Cultural Heritage site, but the formal application was canceled due to an incomplete nomination document. At the end of last month, Japan resubmitted the nomination document to UNESCO after supplementing the deficiencies. The resolution passed by the National Assembly on this day expresses serious concern over Japan’s reapplication for the Sado Mine World Heritage registration and urges the withdrawal of the application.

The resolution demands a sincere apology and responsible attitude from the Japanese government regarding its past history and strongly urges the implementation of UNESCO recommendations and follow-up measures from the 2015 registration of Japan’s Modern Industrial Facilities as World Heritage. It also includes urging the Korean government to respond to the Japanese government and UNESCO regarding the reapplication for the Sado Mine UNESCO registration.