Korean Prime Minister: "Need to Realize Kim Young-ran Act... Will Adjust After Gathering Opinions"

Yellow Envelope Act Passed Solely by the Opposition
"Regret... Many Economic and Legal Issues"

Prime Minister Han Duck-soo (photo) hinted at easing the 'Kim Young-ran Act' (Improper Solicitation and Graft Act), which has kept the meal expense limit capped at 30,000 won for seven years. The Anti-Corruption and Civil Rights Commission has officially begun reviewing the relaxation of meal expense limit regulations.

At a press briefing held at the Government Seoul Office on the 16th, Prime Minister Han said, “Considering the circumstances and time, I think there is a need to gradually make the Kim Young-ran Act more realistic,” adding, “However, since there can be various opinions, we are trying to gather feedback and organize the government’s stance.”

Prime Minister Han Duck-soo is speaking about the Busan Expo bid, carbon, and climate issues at a press back briefing held at the Government Seoul Office in Jongno, Seoul on the 16th. Photo by Jo Yong-jun jun21@

The Anti-Corruption and Civil Rights Commission, the administrative agency in charge of the Kim Young-ran Act, met with restaurant industry representatives at the Korea Foodservice Industry Association in Sindang-dong, Seoul, to collect on-site public opinion. Since President Yoon Suk-yeol mentioned at the Cabinet meeting on the 30th of last month that there are appeals from self-employed and small business owners saying, “The regulations on meal prices and gift limits under the Kim Young-ran Act are too detached from reality and need improvement,” discussions on raising the meal expense limit have gained momentum.

Earlier, in August, the Anti-Corruption and Civil Rights Commission raised the upper limit for agricultural and livestock product gifts set by the Kim Young-ran Act from 100,000 won to 150,000 won. Regarding adjustments to the meal expense limit, the commission plans to decide after reviewing on-site opinions and other considerations. Regarding the Democratic Party’s unilateral passage of contentious bills such as the 'Yellow Envelope Act' in the National Assembly, Prime Minister Han criticized, “It will become an obstacle to the economy that has just begun to recover,” adding, “There are many problems both economically and legally. Experts point out that it conflicts with the Constitution and legal system.”

He continued, “The government is actively promoting social dialogue to resolve issues related to workers’ wage structures,” and said, “The goal should be achieved through this process. It is inappropriate to push through bills that have constitutional and legal problems without sufficient deliberation between the ruling and opposition parties. It is very regrettable.”

Regarding the government’s energy policy direction, he stated, “In response to concerns that the Yoon Suk-yeol administration does not emphasize renewable energy, I want to clearly say that this is absolutely not the case,” adding, “While the previous administration pursued a policy excluding nuclear power plants as base power, the Yoon Suk-yeol administration has a clear policy to coexist renewable energy and nuclear power plants complementarily.” Prime Minister Han also said that the government will clearly present energy policies following this direction through next year’s government department work plans.

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