Choi Min-hee's Broadcasting Commission Nomination Passed After Heated Debate... "A Bad Proposal Violating the Law's Intent"

Lessor Must Present Tax Payment Certificate to Lessee
People Power Party Walks Out in Protest Over Democratic Party's Broadcasting Commission Member Nominations

When signing a lease contract, the lessor will be required to present a tax payment certificate to the lessee, or the lessee will be able to view the lessor's unpaid national and local tax information.

On the afternoon of the 30th, the National Assembly held a plenary session and passed the partial amendment bill to the "Housing Lease Protection Act" containing this provision with 230 votes in favor and 2 abstentions out of 232 members present.

The 2nd plenary session of the 404th National Assembly (extraordinary session) held on the 30th at the National Assembly in Yeouido, Seoul. Photo by Hyunmin Kim kimhyun81@

The amendment focuses on requiring the lessor to show the lessee information such as the confirmed date of the leased house, rent, deposit, and a tax payment certificate when concluding a lease contract. It also requires the lessor to consent to the lessee receiving information from the confirmed date granting agency and viewing the lessor's unpaid national taxes, arrears, and local tax information. Through this amendment, it becomes easier for lessees to know about senior priority deposit refund claims on multi-family housing or the lessor’s tax delinquency status. This is a measure to prevent so-called "jeonse fraud."

The amendment also strengthens the protection of the lessee's deposit refund claims. Even if the lease registration order is not delivered to the lessor due to reasons such as an uncertain lessor address, it can still be enforced. The lease registration order is a system that allows lessees who have not received their deposit back after the lease contract ends to register independently, thereby guaranteeing freedom of residence relocation.

Along with this, the amendment to the "Pharmacist Act," which establishes the basis for designating public late-night pharmacies and budget support, also passed the plenary session. The amendment to the Pharmacist Act legally establishes the designation basis for public late-night pharmacies, which had been operated based on ordinances and other local regulations. It also includes provisions to introduce a monitoring system for illegal drug transactions conducted online.

Meanwhile, on the same day, a proposal to recommend former lawmaker Choi Min-hee as a standing member of the Korea Communications Commission representing the opposition party was approved. The recommendation passed with 156 votes in favor, 18 against, 1 abstention, and 2 invalid votes out of 177 members present in a secret ballot. Prior to the vote, members of the People Power Party protested the recommendation of former lawmaker Choi by walking out collectively.

During this process, an unscheduled parliamentary procedure speech was made, leading to loud exchanges between the ruling and opposition parties. Park Sung-joong, a member of the People Power Party, criticized, "Following the amendment to the Grain Management Act, the Democratic Party is pushing through personnel recommendations without bipartisan agreement by force. The Korea Communications Commission is composed of three ruling party and two opposition members by law, but with the addition of candidate Choi Min-hee, the opposition party would have three members. This is absolutely unacceptable." He added, "The recommendation of candidate Choi is a bad agenda that violates the purpose of the law. We strongly express our regret to the Democratic Party."

In response, Jin Sung-jun, a member of the Democratic Party, pointed out, "The National Assembly Act does not allow debate when handling personnel agendas. It is very regrettable that the Speaker of the National Assembly allowed a parliamentary procedure speech not provided for in the National Assembly Act before processing the recommendation for the Communications Commission today."

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