Ministry of Justice to Strictly Respond to Economic and Livelihood Crimes... Preventing Youth Debt Inheritance

Minister Han Dong-hoon Reports New Government Work Plan to President Yoon Seok-yeol

Minister of Justice Han Dong-hoon is briefing on the contents of the work report after reporting departmental tasks to President Yoon Seok-yeol at the briefing room of the Presidential Office building in Yongsan, Seoul, on the 26th.

[Asia Economy Reporter Choi Seok-jin, Legal Affairs Specialist] Han Dong-hoon, Minister of Justice, has taken decisive action against economic crimes such as jeonse fraud, cryptocurrency scams, voice phishing fraud, and tax evasion. To this end, he plans to establish Crime Proceeds Recovery Divisions and Recovery Teams at major prosecutors' offices by the end of this year.

Following the revival of the Financial and Securities Crime Joint Investigation Unit at the Seoul Southern District Prosecutors' Office in May, a Voice Phishing Crime Joint Investigation Unit will be established this month, and a Tax Crime Joint Investigation Unit will be newly created in the second half of the year to actively investigate tax and customs evasion, offshore tax evasion, and illegal overseas asset formation. The Supreme Prosecutors' Office has decided to detain suspects in planned crimes involving cryptocurrency investment fraud or jeonse fraud, which cause widespread harm to ordinary citizens.

On the morning of the 26th, Minister Han reported these plans to President Yoon Seok-yeol at the Yongsan Presidential Office. Minister Han explained the background, saying, "Due to restrictions on the prosecution's direct investigations, the capacity to respond to corruption has significantly weakened," and added, "It is necessary to swiftly restore direct investigative functions and capabilities to strictly respond to corruption that undermines the foundation of the nation and damages social capital."

Alongside this, the Ministry of Justice will improve the limited acceptance system of inheritance under civil law to prevent the inheritance of debt, which causes minors to become credit delinquents or suffer from debt even after reaching adulthood, hindering normal economic life. Through amendments to civil law, if a minor learns before reaching adulthood that the inherited debts exceed the inherited assets, they will be able to make a limited acceptance within six months from the day they become an adult; if they learn after becoming an adult, within six months from the day they become aware. Additionally, a retroactive provision will be included in the supplementary provisions to extend protection to minors who inherited before the amended law takes effect.

To prepare shareholder protection measures included in the Yoon Seok-yeol administration’s national agenda, the Commercial Act will be amended in the second half of this year. Currently, the Financial Services Commission is discussing measures such as granting shareholders opposing physical division the right to request stock purchase to recover invested capital; requiring companies to disclose restructuring plans and shareholder protection measures when conducting physical division; and preferential allocation of new shares to parent company shareholders upon subsidiary listing.

The Ministry of Justice plans to swiftly restore the prosecution’s direct investigative functions and strengthen its capacity to respond to corruption ahead of the implementation of the amended Criminal Procedure Act and Prosecutors' Office Act in September, which significantly reduce the scope of direct investigations by prosecutors. To this end, the Supreme Prosecutors' Office’s Information Management Office, responsible for collecting crime information, will be revitalized, and Crime Proceeds Recovery Divisions and Recovery Teams will be established at major prosecutors' offices by the end of this year to confiscate illegal profits.

To minimize side effects from the implementation of the amended criminal laws, the Ministry will revise investigation guidelines and, under its leadership, hold discussions through the "Prosecution-Police Responsible Investigation System Maintenance Council," which includes prosecutors, police, academia, and bar associations, to establish subordinate regulations. Furthermore, inter-agency cooperation will be strengthened through the establishment of various joint investigation units, and thorough preparation will be made for constitutional court jurisdiction disputes regarding the amended criminal laws.

The Ministry of Justice will establish a control tower to oversee border, migration, and immigration policies and strengthen human rights protection for migrant foreigners by introducing a foreign-born child registration system. Additionally, by next year, a ‘Special Investigation Unit for Crimes Against Socially Vulnerable Groups’ will be set up within the prosecution, and legislation to attach electronic devices to stalking offenders will be prepared and submitted to the National Assembly.

Moreover, the Ministry plans to build a comprehensive system to prevent child abuse and connect the currently fragmented crime victim support functions across various agencies to create a one-stop support system. It will also modernize the age criteria for juvenile offenders, which has been controversial, and promote large-scale new construction, expansion, and remodeling of correctional facilities nationwide to protect the human rights of inmates and improve the treatment of correctional officers.

Furthermore, by 2024, when the Criminal Procedure Electronic Document Act for paperless criminal trials is implemented, the Ministry plans to introduce a computer-based testing (CBT) system for the bar examination, which is currently conducted manually.

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