New Procedures Introduced for Verifying Administrative Disposition Records of Environmental Offenses in Sales, Inheritance, and Mergers

"Will Enhance Investment Stability and Predictability"

The Ministry of Environment announced that the revised Enforcement Decree of the Act on the Control and Aggravated Punishment of Environmental Offenses (hereinafter referred to as the Environmental Offenses Control Act), which allows for the verification of administrative disposition records related to environmental crimes when selling, inheriting, or merging business sites with pollution-causing facilities, was approved by the Cabinet on September 16 and will go into effect on September 26.

This enforcement decree introduces new procedures and a standard form for verifying administrative disposition records, enabling transferees, inheritors, surviving corporations after a merger, and newly established corporations through a merger to check the administrative disposition history under the Environmental Offenses Control Act when acquiring business sites.

The enforcement decree details the specific procedures and document formats for verifying administrative disposition records, as delegated by Presidential Decree, in line with the amended Environmental Offenses Control Act, which stipulates the verification of administrative disposition history for previous business operators when transferees acquire, inherit, or merge illegal emission facilities.

According to the enforcement decree, transferees and others must verify whether there have been any administrative dispositions imposed on the previous business operator for violations of relevant laws under the Environmental Offenses Control Act before acquiring the business site.

Kim Sung-hwan, nominee for Minister of Environment, is responding to questions from committee members at the confirmation hearing held by the National Assembly's Environment and Labor Committee on July 15, 2025. Photo by Kim Hyun-min

To verify this, a "Request for Verification of Administrative Disposition Records" must be submitted to the relevant authority, which is then required to issue a "Certificate of Verification of Administrative Disposition Records" within five days. The forms for both the request and the certificate are provided as annexes to the enforcement decree.

The application and issuance of verification of administrative disposition records have been delegated to the heads of city and provincial governments and regional (local) environmental agencies, who hold the authority for such administrative dispositions, in order to ensure accessibility and efficiency. However, integrated permit emission facilities governed by the Act on Integrated Management of Environmental Pollution Facilities, for which the Minister of Environment holds the authority, are excluded from this delegation.

Kim Eun-kyung, auditor at the Ministry of Environment, stated, "With this enforcement decree, the ability to verify administrative disposition records in advance during the acquisition of business sites will enhance investment stability and predictability, thereby establishing an institutional foundation to protect bona fide transferees and others."