Economic 6 Organizations "Request to Reconsider the National Assembly Testimony Act... Concerns Over Corporate Confidential Information Leakage Increase"

Mandatory Data Submission Clause "Confidentiality Leak Concerns"
Compulsory Attendance of Businesspeople "Significant Disruption to Business"

The Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry, along with six major economic organizations, urged the National Assembly on the 17th to reconsider the recently passed "Act on Testimony, Inspection, etc. in the National Assembly" (National Assembly Testimony Act), expressing concerns that it could lead to the leakage of core corporate technologies.

Park Chan-dae, floor leader of the Democratic Party of Korea, is presenting the proposal for the impeachment of the President (Yoon Seok-yeol) at the 4th plenary session of the 419th National Assembly (extraordinary session) held at the National Assembly on the 14th. Photo by Kim Hyun-min

In a joint statement released that day, the six economic organizations expressed "deep concern over the passage of the National Assembly Testimony Act in the National Assembly plenary session without sufficient discussion," and appealed, "Please carefully review this bill once again through a request for reconsideration so that companies can focus on their core economic activities."

The six economic organizations issuing the statement are the Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Korea Employers Federation, Korea Federation of Employers, Korea International Trade Association, Korea Federation of Small and Medium Business, and Korea Federation of Medium-sized Enterprises.

The amendment to the National Assembly Testimony Act, which was passed in the plenary session of the National Assembly on the 28th of last month led by the Democratic Party of Korea, includes provisions that companies cannot refuse to submit documents or appear as witnesses on the grounds of personal information protection or trade secret protection. It also includes provisions requiring remote attendance via video connection to the National Assembly even during overseas business trips or illness.

The six economic organizations stated that the mandatory submission of materials would adversely affect corporate management. They said, "The bill could have a significant impact on corporate management activities and national competitiveness," adding, "There is a risk of leakage of corporate secrets and core technologies, and there is a great concern that core competitiveness in the global market could be weakened."

They further added, "There are also concerns that foreign companies investing domestically might reconsider their business in Korea due to fears of trade secret leakage."

They also expressed concerns about the provisions mandating the summons and attendance of business executives. The six economic organizations said, "If the attendance of business executives summoned by the National Assembly becomes mandatory, management will not be able to focus on their core duties, causing significant disruption to normal business operations," and "Especially, forcing business executives on overseas trips to attend via video is not compatible with the urgent and global business environment of companies."

They added, "There is a possibility that this infringes on the 'principle of prohibition of excess' and the 'principle of privacy protection' stipulated by the Constitution, as well as the 'right to self-determination of personal information' defined by the Personal Information Protection Act."

The six economic organizations requested consideration of the fierce national competition in future advanced industries such as artificial intelligence (AI) and semiconductors.

They said, "Major competing countries are engaged in national competition in future advanced industries such as AI and semiconductors, and uncertainties in the domestic and international corporate management environment are also increasing."

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