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Legislation & Government Relations Consulting Center 2023-01-31
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P&B Report - January 2023 Issue

DR & AJU Legislation & Government Relations Consulting Centers latest issue of its specialized legislative journal, the Policy & Business Report, is now available in digital format.

The government will propose 210 legislative bills to the National Assembly, including a number of bills pertaining to the “three reform initiatives,” which are the key tasks of the Yoon Administration.  
Businesses need to pay close attention to whether major bills will pass the National Assembly.

According to the 2023 Government Legislation Plan, the government will be submitting a total of 210 bills to the National Assembly this year. The Ministry of Government Legislation annually establishes the Government’s legislation plan by compiling enactment or amendment plans by ministries and agencies to legislate significant government policies and reports it to the State Council before presenting the plan to the National Assembly. This year, the Ministry of Government Legislation delivered plan to the State Council on January 25. The Ministry of Government Legislation annually establishes the Government’s legislation plan to legislate significant government policies, reports the plan to the State Council, and informs the National Assembly.

According to the Plan, 117 enactment or amendment bills will be submitted to a provisional session of the National Assembly from January to August and December, and 93 bills will be submitted to a regular session of the National Assembly from September to November. Out of the bills, 17 are legislative bills, 7 are total amendment bills, and 186 are partial amendment bills.

Particularly, the Government will submit a number of bills pertaining to labor reform, one of the three reform tasks of the Yoon administration, to the National Assembly. A representative example is the Partial Amendment to the Labor Standards Act, which will be submitted to the National Assembly in June this year. This bill introduces a “working time account system” in which workers can accumulate their extended, night, or holiday work and be paid with time off in lieu.

Moreover, legislative bills that aim to alleviate regulations and foster new industries will also be submitted, including bills reinforcing corporate support, the amendment bill to the Special Act on Designation and Management of Free Economic Zones which alleviates regulations related to development, the amendment bill to the Act on Securing, Management, and Use of Marine and Fisheries Bio-resources, etc.

The Ministry of Government Legislation announced its plan to significantly streamline the legislation process via the “One-Stop Legislative Support” in which a dedicated department of the Ministry of Government Legislation oversees the entire legislation process of major legislative bills related to the “three reforms” of labor, education, and pension.

However, considering the current structure of the National Assembly, where the opposition party takes a majority, it is hard to predict how many bills can pass the National Assembly. The focus now is on whether the major legislative bills will pass the National Assembly.
                                           
<Major Legislative Bills to be Implemented in 2023>
No. Competent Agency Major Legislative Bills and Content
1 Ministry of Science and ICT,
Ministry of the Interior and Safety
  • 「Special Act on Public-Private Cooperative Digital Platform Government」
  • Establishes grounds for a promotion system that enables public and private parties to freely use national data and services.
2 Ministry of Science and ICT
  • 「Science Technology Culture Promotion Act」
  • Establishes grounds for promoting science technology culture policies and projects and supports the operation of key institutions that promote regional science culture.
3 Ministry of Employment and Labor
  • 「Labor Standards Act」
  • Improves the labor hour system, including expanding the right of labor and management to choose labor hours.
4 Fair Trade Commission
  • 「Integrated Act for Dispute Mediation」
  • Integrates the dispute mediation council’s management and mediation procedures for six acts in the fair transaction sector for efficient dispute mediation.

As the first-ever Korean law firm to issue specialized legislative journals, DR & AJU LLC has been publishing the monthly Policy & Business Report since August 2019. The January 2023 issue of the P&B Report conducted a full inspection of legislation proposed to the National Assembly Subcommittee, Standing Committee, and Plenary Session from December 15, 2022, to January 14, 2023, and selected and analyzed legislation with a significant impact on corporate activities. In the case of major legislation, key mentions of legislators, members of the Standing Committee, and government officials are included.

*DR & AJU Legislation & Government Relations Consulting Center provides P&B Report subscription service. Please contact us at whchoi@draju.com for further inquiries.