LH Holds 'Conflict of Interest Public Hearing'... Application Scope Remains a Challenge

[Asia Economy Reporter Koo Chae-eun] As discussions on the Conflict of Interest Prevention Act triggered by LH are gaining momentum, the Public Hearing held by the National Assembly's Political Affairs Committee on the 17th continued the debate over the scope of application of the Conflict of Interest Prevention Act.

Park Yong-jin, a member of the Political Affairs Committee from the Democratic Party, said, "I deeply regret that the Conflict of Interest Prevention Act was not properly discussed during the 20th National Assembly and has continued until now," adding, "Amid public outrage and calls for the passage of the Conflict of Interest Prevention Act, it should become a fundamental law to prevent conflicts of interest." He further added, "Although there is already a Code of Conduct for Public Officials, it has many institutional loopholes."

Yoon Chang-hyun, a member of the People Power Party, also said, "It would be good to broaden the scope but clearly define a few categories to make the legal effects clear," and asked, "Similar to the Improper Solicitation and Graft Act, which includes private school staff and media personnel, is there a possibility to revise the Conflict of Interest Prevention Act to clearly limit the provisions and scope of application to a few categories while keeping it broad and clear?"

Experts agreed on the need to expand the scope. However, they explained that pre-registration of stakeholders could impose administrative cost burdens and require time for discussion. Senior Researcher Lee Cheon-hyun said, "Regarding the pre-registration system, it is fundamentally a matter to be reviewed in the long term," explaining, "According to the current government proposal, the number of public officials subject to the law reaches 2 million, so there are concerns about whether it is possible to register and manage all related private stakeholders."

Attorney Lim Young-ho from the law firm Yuljeong said, "I agree with the issue of expanding the scope," adding, "If the Conflict of Interest Prevention Act includes teachers and journalists, considering the public's desire for prompt legislation, we need to take into account that discussions may take time."

There was also mention of allegations of land speculation in Naegok-dong involving People Power Party candidate Oh Se-hoon. Democratic Party member Oh Ki-hyung said, "The facts related to the designation of the Naegok-dong land as a public housing district have come out," and asked, "If there is a leading party who can designate the public housing district and a family receiving compensation, would this constitute a conflict of interest?" Member Min Byung-duk also said, "Despite the facts being revealed, candidate Oh claims he did not know and still does not know the existence and location of the Naegok-dong land. Please share your opinion on how this issue should be handled if the Conflict of Interest Prevention Act is enacted."

Professor Yoon Tae-beom from the Department of Public Administration at Korea National Open University, who testified, said, "The key point is not the timing of the real estate purchase but whether the person owned the property and was involved in related policy decisions," adding, "If the Conflict of Interest Prevention Act had been enacted, the owned land should have been reported and reviewed for potential conflicts of interest."

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