Strengthening Pre- and Post-Management of Special Cases Including Introduction of Sunset Clause for National Property Special Cases

Ministry of Economy and Finance Announces Legislative Notice for Partial Amendment to the Act on Special Cases Concerning National Property

[Asia Economy Reporter Kwangho Lee] The government is strengthening the pre- and post-management of special cases, including the introduction of a sunset clause for special cases related to state-owned property.

The Ministry of Economy and Finance announced on the 7th that it has publicly notified the "Partial Amendment Bill to the State-Owned Property Special Cases Restriction Act." The ministry plans to collect opinions from the public and related organizations, undergo review by the Ministry of Government Legislation by October 19, and submit the bill to the National Assembly in early November.

The government has enacted and operated the State-Owned Property Special Cases Restriction Act since 2011 to properly manage special cases related to state-owned property. However, special cases have continuously expanded, and the estimated annual fiscal revenue loss (special case expenditure) has exceeded 1 trillion won. Accordingly, to strengthen the pre- and post-management of state-owned property special cases, the government prepared the amendment bill after deliberation at the 22nd State-Owned Property Policy Deliberation Committee.

The amendment stipulates four basic principles for state-owned property special cases: public interest of the purpose, specificity of the subject and conditions, subsidiarity of the method, and temporariness of the duration.

By ensuring compliance with these principles when establishing or applying new special cases, the Ministry of Economy and Finance expects unnecessary special case operations to be restrained.

Additionally, the amendment directly stipulates the duration of all state-owned property special cases in the State-Owned Property Special Cases Restriction Act and introduces a sunset clause system that decides on the extension of the duration through objective evaluation by external professional organizations. Currently, while the individual laws that stipulate special cases are required to specify the duration, only 6 out of 218 special case provisions comply, resulting in low effectiveness. Accordingly, the government plans to gradually reorganize special cases with low necessity for retention through periodic evaluations in the future.

Furthermore, special case provisions related to state-owned property that have already achieved their purpose or whose duration has expired and have low necessity for retention will be prioritized for abolition in this amendment. This includes reductions and transfers of state-owned property usage fees according to the Pyeongchang Olympic Act.

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