Input 2021.03.17 15:05 | Revision 2021.03.17 15:13
與 “Faculty members, journalists, etc., who are subject to the Kim Young-ran Act should also be included”
All 4 attending experts’opposite’
Pointing out “overregulation of the country”
The ruling and opposition parties began to enact a law to prevent conflicts of interest for public officials after the land speculation of employees of the Korea Land and Housing Corporation (LH) broke out. The National Assembly’s Political Affairs Committee held a public hearing on the morning of the 17th and listened to experts’ opinions on how to prevent conflicts of interest of public officials. The main content of the Conflict of Interest Prevention Act is to report job-related interests in advance to prevent public officials from pursuing private interests using their position.
In addition, however, the Democratic Party insisted on including private school faculty and media executives and employees as the subject of this law. It is not to limit the target to public officials, but to cover all the targets of the’Kim Young-ran Act (Unfair Solicitation Prohibition Act)’.
In response, all four experts who attended the public hearing expressed negative stances. Imposing the required level of duty to high-ranking officials could be a state over-regulation. In addition, he pointed out that it is difficult for journalists with a wide range of private interests to specify this. It is pointed out that it is possible to step on the path of the Kim Young-ran law, which is criticized for’making the law rags’ by increasing the subject of the law to a pile and then reducing its effectiveness.
◇ 與 claims to expand the target of “fish are slipping out of the loose net”
Democratic Party lawmaker Park Yong-jin said at a public hearing that day, “There may be a number of controversies, but I think it is correct to raise the Conflict of Interest Prevention Act to the level of the Kim Young-ran Act and apply it to teachers and the media.” “There was a controversy (at the time of the passage of the Kim Young-ran Act), but nevertheless, I think the controversy itself had a great meaning in enhancing the transparency of our society. I think that the Conflict of Interest Prevention Act is also widely applied to prevent (conflict of interest) in advance.” did.
Rep. Park said, “If (regulation) the subject of private stakeholder management with only 16 types of duties (as in the government plan), various legal voids will arise, and all the big fish will escape from the loose net.” “I have to target it.”
Democratic Party lawmaker Min Hyung-bae said, “Private school faculty and media executives and staff members are excluded from the application of the Conflict of Interest Prevention Act. In particular, media executives and employees are the group that has the most access to information in our society and is likely to be exposed to conflicts of interest. I think that the effectiveness of the law may be inferior,” asked the opinions of four experts.
However, experts who attended the public hearing to present their opinions made remarks far from the expectations of Democrats. Lee Chun-yeon, a senior research fellow at the Korea Criminal Policy Research Institute, said, “Compared to the post-regulatory solicitation prohibition law, the Conflict of Interest Prevention Act has a strong aspect of expanding the regulatory scope in advance.” “We cannot be free from the criticism of’over-regulation of the country’.”
Lee Jae-geun, head of the Power Supervisory Commission of the Participation Solidarity, said, “If journalists and faculty members are included in the application, there will be limitations in the provision of mandatory regulations.” “I think it’s impossible to impose (reporting) obligations on the same level as high-ranking officials,” he said.
Tae-beom Yoon, a professor in the Department of Public Administration at KNOU, argued that it was effective to make provisions related to conflicts of interest in each business area using this law as the basic law. Professor Yoon said, “If you include faculty members and journalists, the scope of the conflict of interest will be broadened. If this law is enacted, you will have a basic legal status related to conflicts of interest. Based on this, you will have a (conflict of interest related) law in individual business areas. “Because this is made, it is meaningful even if the scope is narrowed down.”
Young-ho Lim, attorney at Law Firm Yuljeong, said, “In the case of reporters, there is a problem in specifying who their private interests are. For example, in the case of a reporter from the Ministry of Social Affairs, the entire public may be subject to coverage. “You have to examine whether it is correct to impose an obligation to report each time.” He said, “In the case of private school faculty members (private interests), the subject is limited, so I agree.”
◇ 與, for emphasizing the will to renew? Cadastral Map of Following the Privately Cultured Kim Young-ran Method
The Conflict of Interest Prevention Act is an enactment being promoted by the Democratic Party as one of the ‘5 Acts to Prevent LH’. The bill, first proposed in 2013, has been submitted to the National Assembly several times over the past eight years, but it has not been properly discussed and has repeatedly been abolished.
In the 21st National Assembly, the Conflict of Interest Prevention Act submitted by the Rights Committee last year is pending on the standing committee. The main contents of the government plan are ▲Report and avoidance of private interests to those involved in the job, and the obligation to avoid stakeholders Submitting and disclosing details of work activities in the private sector for 3 years prior to the appointment of a high-ranking public official ▲ Confiscation and collection of gained profits ▲ Restriction on job-related activities of public officials ▲ Job It is prohibited to acquire profits from the use of confidential property.
Policy Committee Chairman Hong Ik-pyo said in an interview at KBS Radio on the previous day, “There is a possibility that (reporters) may enter after public officials as well as lawmakers in a wide range, where all persons related to the Kim Young-ran Act may be involved.” He said, “The Public Officials Conflict of Interest Prevention Act is intended to comprehensively prevent the targets of the Kim Young-ran Act,” he said. “There is a lot of resistance in terms of the large number of targets, but I think this must be enacted this time.”
In response to this, as the Democratic Party rushes to the corner due to the LH crisis ahead of the 4/7 re-election, it is argued that it is emphasizing its willingness to renew by promulgating intensive legislation. A political official said, “The Democratic Party gathered its intention to break through the LH incident and the allegations of speculation by the party’s legislators that arose along with the LH incident.” It won’t be easy,” he said.
In addition, some point out that it is also a problem to be based on the Kim Young-ran method, which has already been privately cultured. The Kim Young-ran Act is evaluated to be ineffective because it is difficult to control, with 4.4 million people being applied.