Police Extend Guidance Period Until Year-End for 'Prohibition of Apartment Security Guards Performing Non-Security Duties'

[Asia Economy Reporter Lee Gwan-joo] The preliminary guidance period for the Security Services Act, which prohibits apartment security guards from performing cleaning or landscaping tasks outside their security duties, has been extended until the end of this year.

The National Police Agency announced on the 11th that the preliminary guidance period related to the application of the Security Services Act to apartment management companies has been extended from May 31 to December 31 of this year.

The Security Services Act stipulates that apartment security guards cannot be assigned tasks other than security duties. However, in reality, apartment security guards are performing various additional tasks such as cleaning, landscaping management, and package handling.

Accordingly, the police initially set a preliminary guidance period until May 31, during which apartment and other multi-unit housing management companies were instructed to comply with the obligations under the Security Services Act regarding security duties. This was understood to mean that enforcement actions could be taken after the guidance period.

Upon learning this, the housing management industry expressed concerns that the dismissal of elderly security guards would accelerate. This is because existing security guards would be replaced by electronic security systems, and the other tasks previously handled by security guards would have to be resolved by hiring separate service contractors.

The police stated that it is no longer possible to overlook violations of the current law. However, reflecting concerns from multi-unit housing sites and to ensure stable institutional establishment, they decided to extend the guidance period.

A National Police Agency official said, "During the guidance period, we will provide administrative guidance so that housing management companies can prepare for the application of the Security Services Act, including obtaining security service permits, and will widely collect opinions from related parties," adding, "We also plan to collaborate with the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport to develop improvement measures for the security service system in multi-unit housing."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.