Proposed Bill: Special Act on the Change of Jurisdiction of Hanam-gu from Gyeonggi-do to Seoul Metropolitan City

Proposed by Rep. Lee Yong (People Power Party)

● This proposed bill backs up the ruling People Power Party's "megacity" scheme that intends to incorporate cities near Seoul into the capital administratively. The "megacity" scheme attempts to "merge areas where people live with with the matching administrative jurisdiction," Seoul. The bill argues that currently, residents of Hanam experience inconveniences due to the disparity between where they are active, Seoul, and the administrative district in which they are located, Gyeonggi Province. To enhance the convenience of Hanam residents, this proposed bill removes Hanam from the jurisdiction of Gyeonggi-do and establishes Hanam-gu as a part of Seoul Metropolitan City.

Proposed Bill: Partial Amendment to the Special Act on Support for Financial Innovation

Proposed by Rep. Song Seog-jun (People Power Party)

● Under the existing financial regulatory sandbox system, financial authorities have a designated time frame to revise relevant statutes and regulations in response to the testing outcomes of innovative financial services. However, the short time frame for the revision of statutes and regulations may put many innovative financial services at risk of service suspension. Therefore, this amendment extends the period for improving the statutes and regulations to a maximum of two and a half years to prevent potential service suspensions. The outcomes of innovative financial services include investing in tiny pieces of land, fractional share investing and facial recognition in financial transactions and banking.

Pending Bill: Partial Amendment to the Act on Restriction on Special Cases Concerning Taxation

Proposed by Rep. Hong Yong-pyo (Democratic Party of Korea)

● In tandem with the global trend towards carbon neutrality, this amendment aims to encourage investment in EVs and autonomous vehicles by providing a 30 percent tax exemption in income and corporate tax for investments in facilities that design or manufacture eco-friendly vehicles and vehicle components.

Promulgated Bill: Framework Act on the Construction Industry

Competent Authority: Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport

● Until now, the responsibility for all those defects from the structural load-bearing capacity of constructed buildings, and defects arising from inherent material characteristics, rests with subcontractors. For this reason, subcontractors had to take responsibility even for any defects caused by the properties of the material itself, such as concrete cracks or soil properties during a 10-year liability period for defects. However, this bill establishes a 10-year liability period for defects for the structural load-bearing capacity of constructed buildings and exempts subcontractors from such liability if the defect arises from inherent material characteristics. Moreover, it prohibits subcontractors from being exempted from defect liability if they were aware of inadequacies but failed provide notice of them.

Administrative Announcement: Partial Amendment to the Enforcement Decree of the Management of the National Funds Act

Competent Authority: Ministry of Economy and Finance

● To alleviate the financial burden on domestic construction companies, this amendment enables companies to receive an advance payment of the entire contract value in advance when entering into a contract with governmental agencies.

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The Korea Herald republishes a weekly legislative report by local law firm DR & AJU LLC to provide the latest information on bills approved, proposed, pending and set to be promulgated. -- Ed.

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For any queries about the bills, contact cr@draju.com.