Viewing High-Ranking Officials' Assets in One Place... Ministry of Personnel Plans to Amend the 'Public Officials Ethics Act'

Disclosure of Asset Registration through 'Gongjik Ethics System'... Exemption from Asset Disclosure Obligations for Non-Real Estate Related Occupations

The Director of the Ethics and Service Integrity Bureau at the Ministry of Personnel Innovation for New Soldiers is giving a briefing on the "Amendment to the Public Officials Ethics Act" at the Government Sejong Complex on the 1st. /

[Asia Economy Reporter Baek Kyunghwan] From now on, the asset disclosure information of high-ranking public officials will be accessible in one place. The government plans to collect public opinions and submit a revision bill to the National Assembly after review by the Ministry of Government Legislation, by disclosing asset registration details on a separate communication network apart from the official gazette.

On the 1st, the Ministry of Personnel Management announced that it will give public notice of a partial amendment to the Public Officials Ethics Act containing these details.

The proposed amendment centers on gathering and disclosing all high-ranking public officials' asset registration details on the 'Public Officials Ethics System,' an information and communication network operated by the Ministry of Personnel Management, in addition to the existing official gazette and public bulletin. Currently, ethics committees for public officials in government, the National Assembly, the Supreme Court, and local governments separately upload asset registration details of their respective officials, causing inconvenience in verifying these assets individually.

The amendment also includes expanding the scope of sanctions when public officials improperly acquire property or financial benefits. Under the current law, sanctions apply only when a public official unlawfully increases assets by using confidential information obtained through their duties.

Additionally, the amendment establishes grounds to exempt certain occupations unlikely to handle real estate-related tasks or information from the obligation to register assets. Currently, 17 public-related organizations dealing with real estate, such as Korea Land and Housing Corporation, Seoul Housing and Communities Corporation, and Gyeonggi Housing and Communities Corporation, require all employees to register their assets. Accordingly, the Ministry of Personnel Management decided to exempt certain occupations, such as athletes belonging to the sports teams of these organizations or sanitation workers, who are unlikely to handle real estate-related tasks or information, from the asset registration obligation.

Meanwhile, the proposed amendment can be reviewed on the National Participation Legislation Center website during the legislative notice period from November to December. After collecting opinions through the legislative notice, the Ministry of Personnel Management will finalize the government proposal following review by the Ministry of Government Legislation and approval by the Cabinet, then submit it to the National Assembly.

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