Government to Establish Asset Sale Review Body; Mandatory National Assembly Reporting for Sales Over 30 Billion Won

Measures to Improve the State-Owned Asset Sale System
Additional Review Required by the Association for Appraisals Over 1 Billion Won

Starting next year, the government will establish a separate body specializing in the review of state-owned asset sales, and sales of state-owned assets valued at more than 30 billion won will require approval from the Cabinet and prior reporting to the National Assembly. In principle, sales below the appraised value will be prohibited, but in unavoidable cases, prior approval from a committee will be required.

President Lee Jae-myung, who visited the National Assembly for the policy speech, is speaking during a meeting with National Assembly Speaker Woo Won-shik and others in the Speaker's Reception Room on November 4, 2025. Photo by National Assembly Press Photographers Team

On December 15, the Ministry of Economy and Finance released a plan to improve the system for selling government assets. This follows President Lee Jaemyung’s emergency order on November 3 to suspend all sales of government assets amid controversy over the Yoon Suk-yeol administration’s alleged fire-sale practices, and constitutes a comprehensive overhaul of the management and sale system.

Starting as early as next year, each ministry will set up a specialized review body focused on external experts for asset sales. The aim is to strengthen the review process for selecting assets for sale and for assessing price adequacy. Currently, asset sales can be approved solely by the head of operational support or the board of directors within each ministry.

Previously, in its “Comprehensive Plan for State-Owned Assets for 2026” announced in August, the Ministry of Economy and Finance required that sales of state-owned assets exceeding 10 billion won undergo review by the State-Owned Asset Policy Review Committee, and those over 50 billion won require Cabinet approval and prior reporting to the National Assembly. However, there was criticism that this was ineffective, as there are few state-owned real estate assets valued at over 50 billion won.

In response, the Ministry of Economy and Finance now plans to require Cabinet approval and prior reporting to the relevant standing committee of the National Assembly for sales of state-owned assets worth more than 30 billion won. For sales exceeding 5 billion won, the transaction must be reported to and approved by specialized review bodies such as the State-Owned Asset Policy Review Committee.

However, sales of assets in response to market conditions, such as managing surplus funds, or routine sales activities necessary for the core work of institutions, will be excluded from the reporting requirement. In cases where sales are mandatory under the law, post-reporting will be allowed instead.

Additionally, sales at a discount below the appraised value will be fundamentally prohibited. Currently, if a competitive auction fails more than twice, assets can be sold at up to a 50% discount from the appraised value, which has been criticized for encouraging fire sales. Going forward, if a discounted sale is unavoidable, it must receive prior approval from the State-Owned Asset Policy Review Committee, and the requirements for private contracts will also be revised.

Furthermore, for appraisals exceeding 1 billion won, the government will require the issuance of a review certificate by the Korea Association of Property Appraisers. This measure is intended to provide an additional verification process, addressing ongoing criticism of potential private intervention by appraisal firms or errors in valuation techniques.

Kim Janghun, Director of the State-Owned Asset Policy Division at the Ministry of Economy and Finance, explained, "Currently, two appraisers set the price of state-owned assets, and the final sale price is determined by taking the arithmetic average of their valuations. By having the Association of Property Appraisers conduct an additional review of this process, we aim to further enhance the objectivity and appropriateness of appraisals."

To prevent hasty privatization, the government will introduce a new procedure requiring prior consent from the relevant standing committee when selling shares of public institutions held by the government or public agencies. Additionally, when promoting the sale of government assets, all information-including bidding details, the location, price, and reason for the sale of assets after the transaction-will be transparently disclosed.

The Ministry of Economy and Finance stated, "We will complete the necessary amendments to the State-Owned Property Act and the Act on the Management of Public Institutions in the first half of next year, and will immediately implement system improvements that can be carried out administratively within the year."