Mandatory Proof of Necessity and Appropriateness for Regulatory Conditions
Partial Easing of Regulations on Foreign Medical Tourism Advertising
Establishing Grounds for Performance and Post-Management After Zone Expiration
The burden on companies conducting demonstration projects in regulatory free zones will be further eased. This move aims to reduce cases where excessive regulatory conditions during the demonstration process cause project delays or cancellations.
The Ministry of SMEs and Startups announced that a partial amendment to the "Special Act on Regulatory Exceptions for Regulatory Free Zones and Regional Specialized Development Zones (Regional Special Zones Act)," which includes these changes, was approved at the Cabinet meeting on December 23.
With this legal amendment, when a regulatory authority requests the imposition of conditions on participants in a special zone, it will now be required to prove the necessity and appropriateness of such conditions. A regulatory free zone is an area where all or part of existing regulations are not applied, allowing regulatory exceptions such as demonstration exemptions and temporary permits. Previously, regulatory authorities sometimes demanded excessive additional conditions citing safety concerns, making it difficult for companies to proceed with demonstrations.
In addition, to promote the development of specialized regional industries, the amendment will exceptionally allow foreign language medical advertisements within regional specialized development zones. This is expected to support the recent surge in attracting foreign medical tourists.
The law has also been revised to further vitalize and ensure the effectiveness of the regulatory free zone system. Even after the designation period expires or is revoked, central administrative agencies and heads of local governments will be able to request or require reports and data related to performance management and post-management of regulatory exceptions for the relevant regulatory free zone.
Guidelines for establishing regulatory free zone plans, including review criteria, can now be distributed, and if an application for designation of a regulatory free zone is rejected, the reason must be communicated. In addition, a new provision has been established to prohibit the transfer or seizure of claims for compensation and compensation payments for personal damages arising from accidents in demonstration exemption or temporary permit projects, in order to guarantee the basic livelihood of those affected by such accidents.
The amended Regional Special Zones Act will take effect six months after its promulgation.
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