Operation of Private Mediation Body to Resolve Regulatory Sandbox 'Delays in Review'

Announcement of Measures to Improve Regulatory Sandbox Operation
Establishment of Deliberation and Resolution Procedures by the New Industry Regulation Innovation Committee
Expansion of the 'Planned Type' Approach Proposed by Ministries

The government will improve the chronic issue of delayed reviews during the operation of the regulatory sandbox. The existing 'New Industry Regulatory Innovation Committee' will be expanded and reorganized to operate a coordination and review body centered on private experts. This committee is expected to resolve various conflicts arising from stakeholder disagreements and issue recommendations if coordination fails.

Establishment of 'Innovation Committee' for Coordination Role... Scheduled for Implementation Within the Year

On the 1st, the government announced the 'Regulatory Sandbox Operation Improvement Plan,' which includes systematic support reinforcement for fostering new industries, at the 43rd National Policy Issues Ministerial Meeting chaired by the Prime Minister at the Government Seoul Office.

The regulatory sandbox is a system that supports companies to conduct innovative projects using new technologies such as autonomous vehicles, drones, and artificial intelligence (AI). If companies are blocked by existing regulations from launching products in the market, the system temporarily suspends regulations for a specific period (special exemption period) to open the path. If there are no issues with the project's validity and safety afterward, related regulations are also abolished.

Since the first implementation of the regulatory sandbox in 2019, the government explained that as of last month, there have been a total of 1,266 approvals and 308 regulatory improvement achievements. However, despite several improvement efforts such as legislative enactments and amendments during the system operation, there are still challenges to be resolved. Therefore, since March, the government has held meetings with academia, companies, and related ministries to review the work status and has now presented improvement measures.

The government included several improvements centered on two pillars in this improvement plan: 'Establishment of a systematic management and support system' and 'Improvement of operation at each demonstration stage.' The goal is to reduce the period, which used to take as long as 4 to 5 years from the start of review to granting exemptions, demonstration commencement, and legislative amendments, to within 2 to 3 years.

In particular, to improve the most problematic issue of review delays, the government will operate a third-party neutral private-centered coordination body. Although the Enforcement Decree of the Framework Act on Administrative Regulations was amended last year to ensure reviews are conducted within 90 days starting this year, problems remain such as the postponement of agenda submission to the Regulatory Exemption Committee when consultations fail. Currently, there are 78 projects with review delays exceeding one year.

To address this, the government will expand and reorganize the function of the 'New Industry Regulatory Innovation Committee (Innovation Committee),' which was under the Regulatory Reform Committee. The Innovation Committee will act when reviews or agenda submissions are delayed, when additional conditions inappropriate for the demonstration purpose are imposed (special exemption granting), or when legislative maintenance is delayed. It will also decide on review coordination recommendations and, if related ministries do not accept them, submit the agenda to the Regulatory Reform Committee for reconsideration. The committee will include a chairperson (1) and members (4) appointed from the private sector and academia, as well as the Regulatory Innovation Planning Officer (secretary).

During the process of establishing the legal basis for the Innovation Committee, related legislative amendments such as the Enforcement Decree of the Framework Act on Administrative Regulations will be carried out. However, since amending the decree may take some time, legal grounds will first be established through a Prime Minister's directive. Jung Byung-gyu, Regulatory Innovation Planning Officer at the Office for Government Policy Coordination, explained, "(Once the Innovation Committee is staffed) work will proceed immediately according to the Prime Minister's directive," adding, "We expect this to happen around October to November."

Top-Down 'Planned Regulatory Sandbox' Operation

The government will also improve difficulties faced by businesses due to unclear procedures and standards in each regulatory sandbox sector. A standard operating procedure applicable across all eight regulatory sandbox sectors will be established to ensure unified system operation.

To improve non-cooperation from regulatory ministries or local governments, the government will review regulatory sandbox achievements semiannually, report to the Cabinet meetings, and provide incentives to outstanding ministries. The proportion of regulatory sandbox promotion achievements reflected in government performance evaluations will be increased, and promotion results will also be included in local government evaluations conducted by the Ministry of the Interior and Safety.

Efforts will be made to enhance connectivity among the regulatory sandbox websites, which were separately established for each of the eight sectors, and to integrate management of project data. Additionally, applicants will be provided with step-by-step updates on the review progress to ensure transparent review procedures.

A 'planned regulatory sandbox,' which expands the existing bottom-up regulatory sandbox to a top-down approach, will also be introduced. In this method, ministries proactively identify regulatory improvement tasks, recruit businesses, and grant regulatory exemptions. Jung, the Regulatory Innovation Planning Officer, explained, "It was piloted and implemented partially last year," adding, "Going forward, it will be expanded to all ministries and generalized."

During the demonstration phase, to improve difficulties in legislative maintenance, the government will strengthen the accumulation and management of demonstration data. In this process, a standardized safety verification method will be developed and implemented to facilitate smooth safety verification plan establishment and determine necessary data items. The goal is to present the format around the end of the year by analyzing past cases and conducting research projects with the Korea Institute of Public Administration and specialized research institutions.

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