Proposed bill: Partial Amendment to the Copyright Act

Proposed by Rep. Lee Yong-ho (People Power Party)

● Piracy websites providing access to pirated content continue to thrive, highlighting the need for stricter measures to discourage digital piracy. This amendment specifies the operation of a website that spreads links to pirated content as copyright infringements while raising maximum compensation for copyright infringement. Moreover, it grants public officers the authority to enter sites for investigation and inspect pertinent materials during digital piracy investigations.

Proposed bill: Partial Amendment to the Special Act on the Prevention of Loss Caused by Telecommunications-based Financial Fraud and Refund for Loss

Proposed by Rep. Yun Chang-hyun (People Power Party)

● A new phone scam tactic involves deliberate account suspension, where scammers prompt victims’ accounts to be suspected of scam involvement, leading to account suspension. In addition, recent phone scams utilize services enabling money transfers with only the recipient’s ID, complicating fund tracing. To counter these schemes, this amendment allows account holders to raise objections to account suspension, proving their innocence of fraud. It also permits money transfer service companies to share transaction information on fraud accounts, expediting payment suspension and refunds.

Pending bill: Act on Fostering Artificial Intelligence Technologies and Building Foundation of Trust

Proposed by Rep. Jung Pil-mo (Democratic Party of Korea)

● Recent instances of AI implementation have highlighted the need for a prudent approach to AI technologies. This bill pursues nurturing reliable AI technologies by stipulating ethical principles for AI developers, providers, and users to follow. It also mandates advance notice and reports when deploying AI in sectors directly connected to human lives, safety and dignity.

Promulgated bill: Collection Rules on Patent Fees

Competent Authority: Korean Intellectual Property Office

● This bill aims to alleviate the financial burden on businesses in establishing and maintaining patents, thereby promoting technical innovation and enhancing their market competitiveness. It reduces the basic fees -- including patent transfer registration fees, trademark registration application fees and fees for re-examination requests -- by 10,000 won ($7.50).

Administrative announcement: Partial Amendment to the Act on Restriction on Special Cases Concerning Taxation

Competent Authority: Ministry of Economy and Finance

● The Ministry of Economy and Finance has unveiled the 2023 Tax Law Reform Proposals, which incorporate an amendment to the Act on Restriction on Special Cases Concerning Taxation. Some of the key changes include elevating the tax credit rate for video content production costs, designating core biomedicine technologies as national strategic technologies eligible for tax credits, and broadening the scope of income tax and corporate tax reduction and deduction for businesses relocating to domestic regions.

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.