'Government Burden of Proof System' Expanded to 2,400 Laws and Enforcement Decrees... Rapid Adjustment of COVID-19 Response Tasks

Establishing New Governance... Over 2,000 Regulatory Reforms Last Year

[Asia Economy Reporter Kwangho Lee] The government will expand the scope of the burden of proof reversal to include more than 2,400 laws, enforcement decrees, and enforcement rules that contain regulations. In particular, tasks for responding to crisis situations such as the novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) will be promptly reorganized.

On the 9th, the government announced that it reviewed and finalized the "Regulatory Government Burden of Proof System Promotion Achievements and Future Plans" at the National Affairs Inspection and Coordination Meeting chaired by Prime Minister Chung Sye-kyun.

Since the inauguration of the Moon Jae-in administration, the government has shifted the regulatory innovation paradigm and is innovating regulatory improvement methods from a supplier perspective to a demand-centered approach.

The government burden of proof system is a new framework that reverses the roles of the parties, where public officials prove the necessity of maintaining regulations instead of the private sector proving the need for regulatory improvement, and regulations are improved if proof is difficult.

Over the past year, as a new governance for regulatory innovation, the burden of proof system has been fully expanded, improving a total of about 2,000 regulations, including expanding temporary registration standard exemptions in the construction industry, expanding exemptions from waste charges, enhancing convenience for public utility fee reduction applications for persons with disabilities, and establishing adjustment systems for debtors with arrears under 30 days.

This year, based on the system established last year, the government plans to focus on spreading and consolidating the system.

First, the scope of burden of proof reversal will be fully expanded to more than 2,400 laws, enforcement decrees, and enforcement rules that include regulations.

The government will first review whether active administration can be applied, establish a pre-review system involving private experts, and support the legal review of the Regulatory Burden of Proof Committee by thoroughly examining major regulations.

Also, considering the large variation in the number of regulations by ministry, laws and regulations will be gradually revised. The 27 ministries will complete the burden of proof committee review this year, and 13 ministries with many regulations, including the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport, Ministry of Environment, Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries, Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy, Ministry of Health and Welfare, and Ministry of Employment and Labor, plan to complete the review in two stages by next year.

The government has decided to prioritize reviewing and responding to key tasks that significantly affect public life and economic activities, especially COVID-19.

Issues addressed through active administration during the COVID-19 response will be immediately reorganized reflecting the deliberation results of the Active Administration Support Committee. Tasks necessary to overcome the economic crisis, tasks requested for explanation by the Office for Government Policy Coordination among the Regulatory Reform Suggestion Board proposals, and regulatory sandbox tasks requiring legal revision to spread regulatory improvement effects will also be reorganized.

Furthermore, the government will seek solutions to conflict tasks through the burden of proof system and expand the system to frontline local governments and public institutions.

For tasks requiring conflict management due to stakeholder or value conflicts, various opinions from economic organizations, companies, and consumers will be collected to devise alternatives, and mid- to long-term tasks requiring additional review will be managed jointly by the public and private sectors.

Based on the promotion system established in 243 local governments, the government will actively promote the revision of autonomous regulations, and public institutions will also establish systems for burden of proof reversal and begin revising public institution regulations within this year.

In addition, the government will introduce a regulatory burden of proof request system to expand participation by citizens and companies and strengthen the deliberation methods of the Regulatory Burden of Proof Committee to enable fair and balanced discussions.

An official from the Office for Government Policy Coordination said, "According to the whole-of-government promotion plan prepared by the Office, all ministries will immediately establish detailed implementation plans and promote the first stage of legal revisions by the end of the year. We will continuously monitor the progress of each ministry and strengthen the role of coordinating differences between ministries."

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