30 Recommendations to Improve 30 Corruption-Inducing Regulations in Administrative Agencies... "Saemangeum Project and Drone Regulations Are Ambiguous"

Corruption Impact Assessment on 425 Revised and Newly Enacted Laws by Central Ministries
Recommendations to Specify Excessive Discretionary Provisions and Establish Conflict of Interest Prevention Measures

Saemangeum Floating Solar Power Plant in the reservoir area of Gunsan-si, Jeollabuk-do. The photo shows President Moon Jae-in visiting and inspecting the power plant on October 30 last year. (Image source=Yonhap News)

[Asia Economy Reporter Moon Chaeseok] In the first quarter, out of 425 newly enacted or amended laws and regulations by central administrative agencies, 65 corruption-inducing factors were found in 30 laws, leading to recommendations for improvement. Notably, a case was identified where the scope of special provisions in the Saemangeum Project Act Enforcement Decree was ambiguously defined.

On the 17th, the Anti-Corruption and Civil Rights Commission announced that from January to March, it conducted a corruption impact assessment on 425 newly enacted or amended laws and regulations by central administrative agencies and recommended improvements to the relevant agencies regarding 65 corruption-inducing factors in 30 laws.

The main areas of recommendation included ▲specifying discretionary provisions to control excessive discretionary power and prevent corrupt acts (22 cases, 33.8%) ▲establishing conflict of interest prevention measures to avoid private interest interference (15 cases, 23.1%) ▲enhancing transparency and accountability in the delegation and outsourcing of administrative tasks (10 cases, 15.4%), among others.

Specifically, the 'Saemangeum Project Act Enforcement Decree' was pointed out for ambiguously defining the types of research institutions subject to special provisions. The scope of research institutions eligible for special provisions was vaguely set.

The application targets for special provisions such as the use permit for Saemangeum national and public lands and rent reductions were extended to research institutions, resulting in unclear criteria.

Accordingly, the Anti-Corruption and Civil Rights Commission recommended clearly defining the types of research institutions subject to the special provisions.

Issues were also raised regarding drone utilization. When the 'Enforcement Decree on the Promotion and Foundation of Drone Utilization' was established, the qualifications for private members of the Drone Industry Council were defined ambiguously as "persons with abundant academic knowledge and experience."

The Commission specified the qualifications for private members more concretely, considering academic and practical experience.

They also recommended pre-announcing the conditions for cancellation of designation related to advanced drone technology.

The Commission is verifying through implementation status checks whether the recommended improvements for identified corruption-inducing factors have been reflected in the laws and regulations.

From 2013 to 2018, a total of 1,916 newly enacted or amended laws and regulations received improvement recommendations.

Excluding 293 cases closed due to legislative withdrawal or other reasons, 1,450 out of 1,623 cases (89.3%) were implemented.

Im Yoonju, Director of the Anti-Corruption Bureau, stated, "We plan to continuously identify and improve corruption-inducing factors in laws and regulations of central administrative agencies that greatly affect the daily lives of citizens, thereby creating a fair and transparent society."

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