Korea Commission on Human Rights Recommends 255 Improvements on Public Inconvenience and Unfair Systems Over 5 Years... Acceptance Rate 98.7%

Publication of Major Casebook Including 'Reduction of Real Estate Brokerage Fees'

Chairperson Jeon Hyun-hee of the Anti-Corruption and Civil Rights Commission is presenting the progress on the "Recommendations for Improving Public Inconveniences and Unfair Systems in Daily Life over the Past Five Years" and the casebook on the "Top 100 System Improvements by the Commission" at the briefing room of the Government Seoul Office Building on March 22, 2022. Photo by Yonhap News

[Asia Economy Sejong=Reporter Son Seon-hee] The Anti-Corruption and Civil Rights Commission announced that it recommended a total of 255 institutional improvements related to public inconvenience and unfairness in daily life over the past five years since the Moon Jae-in administration took office. The acceptance rate by each institution reached 98.7%.

On the 22nd, the Commission reported these institutional improvement achievements to the Cabinet meeting and published and distributed a related casebook.

Looking at major cases, the Commission prevented secondary damage to victims of domestic violence by ensuring that perpetrators cannot track the addresses of not only the victims but also their parents and children living separately.

Also, when a student who committed school violence appeals the principal's disciplinary action, the Commission ensured that the victim student is notified of the appeal and given an opportunity to testify, guaranteeing the victim's participation.

In particular, due to the rapid rise in housing prices last February, which increased the public's burden in the real estate market, the Commission recommended nearly halving real estate brokerage fees. The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport, the competent authority, accepted this and revised related regulations in October last year, significantly reducing the public's brokerage fee burden.

Additionally, the Commission improved the practice of passing physical examination costs onto job seekers during the hiring process by making employers (companies, etc.) bear the costs and recommended actively utilizing the option to replace physical examinations with 'health checkup results.'

Regarding major institutional improvements to resolve unfairness in daily life, the Commission prepared litigation work regulations specifying methods to recover litigation costs to improve the practice of public institutions neglecting to recover litigation costs despite winning lawsuits, which caused budget leakage. As a result, about 100 billion won in litigation costs are expected to be recovered annually.

Furthermore, the Commission stopped budget execution for high-priced commemorative gifts such as domestic and overseas training including spouses and golden keys for long-serving and retiring public officials in local governments and deleted the legal basis for these in ordinances.

Moreover, the Commission strengthened management and supervision of green fees at public golf courses receiving tax benefits amounting to 1 trillion won annually and improved golf course usage terms to prevent forced use of ancillary services such as restaurants and caddies. It also prohibited payment of performance bonuses and retirement allowances when severe disciplinary actions are taken for offenses such as bribery, embezzlement, sexual violence, prostitution, sexual harassment, and drunk driving.

The Commission plans to thoroughly manage the implementation of recommended institutional improvements to ensure they are fully carried out by each institution. For some tasks not yet implemented due to various reasons such as legislative delays, the Commission will strengthen implementation evaluations and take measures to promptly reflect them in the system through regular implementation strategy meetings, consulting, Cabinet reports, and legislative proposals.

Jeon Hyun-hee, Chairperson of the Commission, said, "In the aftermath of COVID-19, public inconvenience and difficulties in daily life are increasing," adding, "Government attention and proactive response are required to prevent infringement on public rights." She continued, "We will continue to listen to the public's voices through digital communication channels such as the People's Petition and People's Idea Box and promote institutional improvements that the public can actually feel."

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