[Public Voices] Enacting Laws on Time Is a Promise to the People

Subordinate Statutes Must Be Prepared on Time
for Timely Implementation of Policies

Lee Wankyu, Chief of the Ministry of Government Legislation.

Recently, Soseo (小暑) passed. Soseo, which means "minor heat," is a solar term that marks the beginning of the full-fledged hot season, coinciding with the rainy season when there is heavy rainfall and high humidity. In the past, it was seen as the time when rice seedlings transplanted around the summer solstice began to take root. There is a proverb that says, "Even passing travelers rush to the rice seedlings during Soseo." It is important to finish transplanting rice seedlings before Soseo to help the growth of the rice; if transplanting is delayed, all available hands must be mobilized to complete it as soon as possible.

There is also a "time" for legislation. When a law is enacted or amended, the necessary subordinate statutes must be prepared in accordance with the law’s effective date. In practice, this is called "timely preparation of subordinate statutes." Subordinate statutes necessary for the enforcement of a law must be prepared on time so that the policies contained in the law can be implemented promptly, thereby enhancing public trust in government policies. Furthermore, preparing subordinate statutes that include delegated matters or necessary provisions for the enforcement of the law on time respects the legislative intent of the National Assembly, the legislative body, thereby honoring legislative authority.

The ministry responsible for the law must prepare drafts of subordinate statutes if necessary for the enforcement of the law and request review from the Ministry of Government Legislation at least 45 days before the law’s effective date, after going through legislative procedures such as inter-ministerial consultation, legislative notice, and regulatory review.

Sometimes, legislative procedures are delayed, resulting in subordinate statutes being prepared after the effective date. The Ministry of Government Legislation, which oversees government legislation, conducts two rounds of focused inspections and management of the legislative progress of the relevant ministries to prevent subordinate statutes from not being prepared by the law’s effective date. Specifically, laws that have not been given legislative notice 120 days before the effective date are promptly guided to the responsible ministries for swift legislative notice, and laws for which review has not been requested from the Ministry of Government Legislation 50 days before the effective date are checked with the ministries regarding the progress of regulatory review and any disagreements to ensure legislative progress is not delayed.

However, not all laws are prepared with such a time buffer before their effective date. In cases where urgent enforcement is necessary and there is insufficient time to prepare subordinate statutes, the law may be promulgated and enforced immediately after being passed by the National Assembly. A recent example is the "Special Act on Support for Victims of Jeonse Fraud and Housing Stability," which was a major topic in our society.

The special act, designed to promptly assist tenants who suffered from Jeonse fraud, was passed by the National Assembly on May 25 and promulgated and enforced immediately on June 1. The special act grants special provisions related to auction or public sale procedures and tax collection to victims of Jeonse fraud, and provides financial support and emergency welfare assistance. To receive these special provisions and support, victims must first apply for recognition as a Jeonse fraud victim and be acknowledged by the Jeonse Fraud Victim Support Committee.

However, since the special act delegates the application procedure for recognition as a Jeonse fraud victim and the detailed damage investigation procedures to be stipulated by enforcement rules, it was necessary for the enforcement rules to be implemented simultaneously with the law for prompt victim relief. The Ministry of Government Legislation closely monitored the process of the special act’s proposal and discussion in the National Assembly and consulted in advance with the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport, the responsible ministry, regarding the contents to be included in the enforcement rules. Then, immediately after the special act was passed by the National Assembly, the Ministry of Government Legislation swiftly conducted the review of the enforcement rules so that they could be enforced together with the special act on its effective date.

On the first day of the special act’s enforcement, 795 applications for recognition as victims of Jeonse fraud were reportedly received. This is considered a result of preparing the subordinate statutes containing the victim relief procedures as quickly as possible. Implementing laws on schedule is a fundamental promise the government must keep to earn the trust of the people. The Ministry of Government Legislation will continue to do its best to protect the rights and interests of the people by ensuring subordinate statutes are prepared on time.

Lee Wankyu, Minister of Government Legislation

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