[2023 National Audit] 'Simplified Real-Expense Insurance Act' Passed... Many Remaining Key Financial Bills Pending

After the long-awaited bill in the insurance industry, the 'Simplification of Claims for Actual Loss Insurance Act (Amendment to the Insurance Business Act),' passed the National Assembly plenary session for the first time in 14 years, it has been revealed that several other financial bills remain at the standing committee stage.

On the first day of the National Assembly audit on the 10th, public officials from the audited institutions are busily moving in the corridors in front of each standing committee preparing their responses. Photo by Hyunmin Kim kimhyun81@

According to the 'List of Key Financial Bills' submitted by the Financial Services Commission to the office of Kim Jong-min, a member of the National Assembly's Political Affairs Committee from the Democratic Party of Korea, as of the 11th, 14 key bills are still at the standing committee stage or have not yet been submitted.

First, the bill pending at the National Assembly Legislation and Judiciary Committee includes a partial amendment to the Capital Markets Act. This bill introduces a pre-disclosure system for insider trading. It requires major shareholders or executives of certain companies to report their trading of company stocks to the Financial Services Commission and the Korea Exchange within a period prescribed by Presidential Decree.

Among the bills pending at the Political Affairs Committee, notable issues include the Corporate Restructuring Promotion Act, which forms the basis of the corporate workout system and is set to expire on the 15th; the Korea Development Bank Act, which includes provisions to change the bank’s head office location from 'Seoul Special City' to Busan to facilitate the relocation of the Korea Development Bank; and the Depositor Protection Act, which establishes a financial stability account within the Deposit Insurance Fund. The Personal Debtor Protection Act, which protects delinquent debtors and establishes regulations for managing overdue claims, is also pending.

Additionally, four bills related to the Capital Markets Act remain at the Political Affairs Committee stage, including the introduction of a mandatory tender offer system during mergers and acquisitions (M&A), diversification of measures against unfair trade practices, the introduction of Business Development Companies (BDC), and the allowance and circulation of Security Token Offerings (STO). Also pending are one bill each on the Electronic Securities Act and the Anti-Terrorism Financing Act, and two bills on the Act on Reporting and Using Specified Financial Transaction Information.

There are also bills scheduled to be submitted to the Political Affairs Committee. One such bill is the Act on the Refund of Telecommunications Fraud Damage, which aims to prevent so-called 'account threats'?where the victim’s account is used to deposit funds from another voice phishing victim, leading to payment suspension and subsequent demands for settlement money.

Furthermore, the Act on the Governance of Financial Companies, which includes provisions to introduce a 'responsibility structure' to prevent repeated financial accidents in financial companies over recent years, has yet to pass the Political Affairs Committee.