Simple Vehicle Repairs Are Also Recorded in Used Car Inspection Records

Fair Trade Commission Improves 22 Regulatory Cases

Even simple vehicle repair histories without accident records are now recorded in used car performance inspection reports, and large hybrid vehicles will be allowed to operate as taxis.

On the 5th, the Fair Trade Commission announced that it had prepared improvement measures for 22 competition-restrictive regulations. These regulations, which hinder corporate innovative growth and cause inconvenience to the public, have been targeted for revision. The Fair Trade Commission has been identifying and improving regulations with competition-restrictive elements annually based on market analysis results and feedback from policy demanders such as business associations.

The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport agreed to accept the Fair Trade Commission’s proposal to improve the "Vehicle Performance and Condition Inspection Report" (hereafter referred to as the report), which consumers check when purchasing used cars. The Enforcement Rules of the Automobile Management Act limit the cases where accident history is recognized in the report, which used car dealers must provide to consumers, to repairs on major structural parts of the vehicle. Accordingly, repairs other than major structural parts such as hood, door, and trunk replacements were not indicated in the report.

The Fair Trade Commission pointed out, "General consumers, who find it difficult to understand these circumstances, often mistake the absence of accident history on the report cover as a no-accident vehicle and make purchase decisions based on this, which sometimes leads to consumer disputes." Going forward, the report will distinguish and record the degree of vehicle repairs (major or simple repairs) rather than accident history, and will indicate both the mileage at the time of vehicle performance and condition inspection and the final mileage from ‘Automobile 365’. Photos of the odometer will also be attached to the inspection scene photos.

The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport established new standards to allow large hybrid vehicles to operate as taxis. The criteria for environmentally friendly vehicles that can be used in taxi transportation businesses were an engine displacement of 2400cc or more or an output of 160kw or more. Shim Jae-sik, Director of Market Structure Improvement Policy at the Fair Trade Commission, explained, "Only a few imported vehicles meet these standards for large hybrid vehicles, excessively restricting the vehicle selection range for consumers and taxi operators."

In August, the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport amended related laws to establish separate standards for hybrid vehicles, allowing low-displacement large hybrid vehicles to operate as premium taxis. Director Shim said, "This will expand the choices for consumers and taxi operators and contribute to the transition of taxis to eco-friendly vehicles."

The Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs decided to ease entry regulations for the government grain milling market. Within this year, it plans to revise the guidelines for contracting government-managed grain processing to allow new operators to enter the government grain milling market. Government grain refers to grains purchased or imported and managed by the government, distributed to welfare and correctional facilities, military units, and others.

Until now, to ensure proper operation of government grain milling factories, entry of new milling factories was restricted except for the existing 120 milling factories contracted with the government (local governments). The Fair Trade Commission expects that this regulatory improvement will expand facilities and technological investments in milling factories, thereby improving milling quality.

Regulations on duplicate smartphone certification will also be improved. The National Institute of Technology and Standards required additional safety certification beyond supplier conformity confirmation for smartphones with a screen diagonal length of 17 cm or more. However, it plans to adjust the tablet PC screen size criterion from 17 cm to 20 cm or more to prevent dual certification regulations. Plans are also underway to lift restrictions on containers that can be charged at hydrogen charging stations after demonstration projects.

The Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism resolved the inconvenience of having to visit administrative offices every time there were changes to publisher information such as name, location, or representative’s name after publisher registration by enabling online change reporting.