Special Act on Jeonse Fraud and Kim Nam-guk Prevention Act to Be Discussed in Today's Plenary Session

The plenary session opens at 3 PM after passing the Legislation and Judiciary Committee
Special Act on Jeonse Fraud, Public Officials Ethics Act, National Assembly Act, etc. processed

A special law to support victims of jeonse fraud and a virtual asset (coin)-related law known as the ‘Kim Nam-guk Prevention Act’ will be processed at the National Assembly plenary session on the afternoon of the 25th. The Gangwon Special Self-Governing Province Act, which largely lifts regulations related to Gangwon Province, is also expected to pass the plenary session.

The National Assembly Legislation and Judiciary Committee held a full meeting on the morning of the same day and approved the bill to enact the "Special Act on Support for Jeonse Fraud Victims and Housing Stability," the amendment to the Public Officials Ethics Act to include virtual assets in the property disclosure targets, and amendments to the National Assembly Act. According to Article 59 of the National Assembly Act, bills that have passed the standing committee are subject to a five-day deliberation period before the Legislation and Judiciary Committee’s review of the system and wording, but the special law on jeonse fraud and the virtual asset-related law will be reviewed at the plenary session on the same day after the Legislation and Judiciary Committee’s approval.

The core of the special law on jeonse fraud is that if a person is recognized as a victim of jeonse fraud, they are granted a preemptive purchase right when the residence they live in goes to auction, and if they successfully bid on the house at auction, they can receive financial support. If the victim does not wish to purchase the house, the Korea Land and Housing Corporation (LH) can acquire the preemptive purchase right and utilize public rental housing. In addition, the amendment includes expanding financial support for victims of jeonse fraud after discussions between the ruling and opposition parties, and the government providing auction and public sale agency services.

[Image source=Yonhap News]

After marathon discussions since the end of last month, the ruling and opposition parties agreed to include in the special law a plan to provide interest-free loans for 10 years up to the amount of the highest priority repayment to victims of jeonse fraud, and low-interest loans up to 240 million KRW for the excess amount, without the ‘deposit bond purchase’ demanded by the opposition party. The special law also requires the Housing and Urban Guarantee Corporation (HUG) to support a ‘one-stop auction and public sale agency service’ for victims of jeonse fraud. The ruling and opposition parties also debated the definition of victims of jeonse fraud, and the special law sets the deposit range up to 500 million KRW without limiting the housing area criteria, and includes victims of ‘gap speculation without capital’ causing empty jeonse damage and neighborhood living facilities as support targets beyond just jeonse fraud victims.

The amendment to the Public Officials Ethics Act, which passed the Legislation and Judiciary Committee on the same day, includes the requirement to report virtual assets in the property disclosure of public officials starting early next year. Until now, virtual assets were excluded from the property declaration and disclosure targets for public officials such as members of the National Assembly. Following the social controversy caused by independent lawmaker Kim Nam-guk’s coin investment allegations, the amendment requires that all virtual assets be reported regardless of value, even if they are worth as little as 1 KRW.

Furthermore, to prevent conflicts of interest, the amendment to the National Assembly Act, which requires members of the National Assembly to register their virtual asset holdings with the National Assembly Ethics Review Advisory Committee, was also approved by the Legislation and Judiciary Committee and will be voted on at the plenary session in the afternoon. According to the amendment, members of the National Assembly must submit details of virtual assets acquired and held from the start of their term until the 31st of this month, as well as any changes, to the Ethics Review Advisory Committee by the end of next month. This effectively conducts a full survey of virtual assets held by members of the National Assembly. Subsequently, the Ethics Review Advisory Committee must deliver opinions related to conflicts of interest to the relevant members and the floor leaders of their affiliated negotiation groups by the end of July.

The National Assembly will hold a plenary session in the afternoon and approve about 90 bills including these laws. In particular, the full revision bill of the Gangwon Special Self-Governing Province Act will also be on the agenda at the plenary session that afternoon. The amendment includes improvements and delegation of authority regarding four major regulations on farmland, national defense, forestry, and environment, customized support for fostering future industries, and fostering internationally competitive talent through improvements in the education autonomy system.

Also included are the Subcontract Transaction Fairness Act, which introduces a ‘subcontract payment adjustment system’ allowing subcontract payment adjustments when unavoidable due to changes in supply costs, and the National Health Insurance Act, which extends the sunset clause for national treasury support to the National Health Insurance Corporation until 2027.

Meanwhile, the ruling and opposition parties did not include contentious issues such as the Broadcasting Act, which has significant disagreements between the parties, or the re-vote on the Nursing Act vetoed by President Yoon Seok-yeol, in the plenary session agenda. Regarding this, Lee So-young, the Democratic Party floor spokesperson, told reporters after the party’s policy coordination meeting, "It has been decided that the Nursing Act and Broadcasting Act will not be submitted to today’s plenary session," adding, "The Nursing Act is expected to be processed at the plenary session on the 30th, and the Broadcasting Act remains undecided as discussions have not progressed much."

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