The Democratic Party Proposes the 'Park Deok-heum Prevention Act'... Prohibiting Assignment to Related Standing Committees and Private Contracts with Family Companies

Democratic Party Political Reform TF Proposes Amendment to National Assembly Act... Establishing 'Disqualification Criteria for Standing Committee Members'

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Wondara] The Democratic Party of Korea has proposed the 'Park Deok-heum Prevention Act.' The main point is to prevent members of the National Assembly from being assigned to standing committees where they have conflicts of interest. Park Deok-heum, a member of the People Power Party, is accused of his family-owned construction companies winning contracts worth hundreds of billions of won from the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport (MOLIT) affiliated agencies and the Seoul Metropolitan Government during the past five years while he served on the National Assembly's Land, Infrastructure and Transport Committee.

On the morning of the 21st, the Democratic Party's Political Reform Task Force held a press conference at the National Assembly and announced the proposal of a partial amendment to the National Assembly Act, focusing on 'disqualifications for standing committee members.'

The amendment stipulates that if a member, their spouse, or direct ascendants/descendants own stocks or shares above a certain ratio, as defined by National Assembly rules, in corporations related to the duties of the relevant standing committee, they cannot be assigned to that committee. This applies not only to those serving as executives or outside directors but also to those providing advisory or consulting services.

Members, their spouses, or relatives within the fourth degree of kinship are prohibited from entering into contracts for goods, services, or construction for profit through methods other than open competition or public bidding. If they own stocks in related companies for more than six months, they must request a change of their assigned standing committee, and if there is a conflict of interest, their participation in review and voting is restricted.

To this end, members must report any private sector work activities within the past three years to the Speaker within 30 days of the start of their term. Before assigning standing committees, the Speaker must request the Ethics Review Advisory Committee to examine and report whether the member has any disqualifications.

Kim Nam-guk, a Democratic Party member who is the chief proposer of the amendment, pointed out, "In particular, Member Park, while serving on the Land, Infrastructure and Transport Committee for the past five years, secured construction contracts worth hundreds of billions of won from supervised agencies through companies run by his family." He also noted, "In the case of Member Yoon Chang-hyun, who served as an outside director of Samsung C&T during the Samsung C&T-Cheil Industries merger, controversy has arisen over his current role in the Political Affairs Committee handling Samsung-related matters."

He added, "Although various conflict of interest prevention bills have been proposed, amending the National Assembly Act is essential to prevent conflicts of interest among members of the National Assembly. We will do our utmost to ensure that the bill passes and restores public trust in the National Assembly, rather than letting it remain just a proposal."

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