Plenary passes 36 bills including amendment to the Act on Registration of Family Relations

- Amendment to the Act on Registration of Family Relations to require the head of a si/eup/myeon to report a birth when there is no report after notification of birth

- Amendment to the Financial Investment Services and Capital Markets Act to impose penalty surcharges of up to two times the profit from market price manipulation

During the 407th extraordinary session, held on June 30, 2023, the National Assembly passed 41 items including 36 bills. Following are the major bills tabled for consideration: 

<1> Amendment to the Act on Registration of Family Relations

The amendment is intended to prevent any omissions of reports of birth, by mandating the immediate notification of birth information at medical institutions to local governments and other relevant government agencies. 

More specifically, the amended Act mandates that medical personnel working at a medical institution state the newborn’s gender, date of birth, and other information including the mother’s name and resident registration number, on medical or birth records. The head of a medical institution shall submit the report to the Health Insurance Review & Assessment Service (HIRA) within 14 days of a birth, and the HIRA shall notify the head of a si/eup/myeon of the place of registration of birth and related information without delay. 

The head of a si/eup/myeon who has been issued the notice shall confirm whether the report has been made within one month of a birth. To any person failing to file such a report within one month of a birth, a peremptory notice shall be issued to have it filed within seven days of issuance of the peremptory notice. If the person obliged to file a report of birth is not identified or failed to file such a report even during the peremptory notice period, the head of a si/eup/myeon shall record the birth in the register. 

In consideration of the difficulty of reporting a birth at a place outside a medical institution, the amendment allows the attachment of a daily record of rescue operations and emergency medical service operations under Article 22 of the Act on 119 Rescue and Emergency Medical Services in the birth report, in lieu of a birth certificate prepared by a doctor, midwife, or other person involved in delivery of the newborn. 

<2> Amendment to the Financial Investment Services and Capital Markets Act

The amendment is intended to allow the Financial Services Commission to impose penalty surcharges on acts of ▲ divulging information that could affect market prices in the derivatives market; ▲ using such information for the trade of exchange-traded derivatives or an underlying asset, or for other transactions, or making someone use it; ▲ using material nonpublic information; market price manipulation; and ▲ unfair trading, of up to two times the profits from the act including unrealized profits, or an amount equivalent to 1.5 times the loss that it has avoided through such a violation. If no loss has been avoided or if the loss is difficult to calculate, penalty surcharges of up to KRW 5 billion may be imposed. 

If penalty surcharges were imposed on the same violation, the Financial Services Commission may revoke the punishment or exclude all or part of the penalty surcharge amount. 

The amendment also establishes grounds for reducing or waiving penalty surcharges when those who commit the above violation surrender or receive punishment or penalty surcharges in connection with their statements or testimony about crime by others during the investigation or court process of the same case. 

<3> Act on Development and Support of Smart Agriculture*

Automated and unmanned farming has become necessary in the face of aging farm workers and the hollowing out of rural communities. There is a recognized need for institutional support to develop smart agriculture operated in conjunction with advanced information communications technology. 

The approved Act establishes the institutional grounds to promote and support smart agriculture, such as through the formulation of basic and execution plans to promote smart agriculture; designation of a smart agriculture support center; and fact-finding surveys on smart farming.  

Specifically, the Minister of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs, to secure professionals, shall designate educational institutions for fostering experts on smart farming, provide necessary support for the operation of such institutions, and develop a qualification system for smart agriculture managers. 

In addition, the Minister may designate a smart farming support base comprising educational institutions that foster farm workers specializing in smart agriculture, together with a smart farming advancement zone where smart agriculture activities are clustered and diffused regionally. 

* English translation of original Korean title is tentative. 

<4> International Adoption Act*

The Republic of Korea seeks to ratify the Hague Convention on Protection of Children and Co-operation in Respect of Intercountry Adoption, developed by the Hague Conference on Private International Law, following its signing in 2013. The convention intends to serve the best interests of children and hold each country responsible for overall adoption procedures in the respective country. 

Specifically, the approved Act expands the definition of international adoption to include both adoptions from and to Korea; allows international adoption only when it represents the best interests of the child, such as by offering a permanent family to a child who does not settle down with foster parents in Korea; and stipulates that a child’s primary rights shall be respected throughout the international adoption procedures and that international adoption shall not be used as a means for the abduction, trafficking, or sale of a child. 

The Ministry of Health and Welfare shall be the central authority to oversee the adoption process in consultation with foreign central authorities, and the Minister shall prepare and receive a report(s) on the adoptee’s settlement. 

The Minister may entrust the task of entering and managing information on adoptees into an integrated information system, and of accepting adoption applications from foster parents and preparing review reports, to the National Center for the Rights of the Child, the Social Welfare Foundation, or another association equipped with the requisite facilities and employees. 

* English translation of the original Korean title is tentative. 

<5> Amendment to the Telecommunications Business Act

The approved amendment is intended to enable local governments to register a facilities-based telecommunication business for non-profit public Wi-Fi projects intended for public interest purposes, or Internet of Things projects for administrative purposes. Local governments are expected to proactively push forward with public Wi-Fi projects to improve convenience for residents. 

The amendment also requires certain facilities to connect mobile communications equipment for use on their premises — which are needed to use facilities-based telecommunications services — to their building’s emergency power terminal. 

In addition, telecommunications business operators that offer over-the-top (OTT) services shall make efforts to provide support for persons with disabilities, such as Korean sign language service, closed captioning, and descriptive video service, to enhance their understanding. 

<6> Amendment to the Act on Special Measures for Strengthening the Competitiveness of, and Protecting National High-Tech Strategic Industries

The amendment is intended to enable the National High-Tech Strategic Industry Committee to make timely decisions in responding to changing supply chains in the high-tech industry. 

Specifically, the Minister of Trade, Industry and Energy shall publicly notify specific industries categorized as national high-tech strategic industries; expand the National High-Tech Strategic Industry Committee by integrating it with specialized committees in each strategic industrial field; and establish a subcommittee in each field to promote efficient deliberation. 

If it is necessary for the head of a central administrative agency to move forward urgently with facility investment or technology development projects related to strategic industries, or if a need is recognized in order to secure national competitiveness, the agency head may designate the project as a lead project following deliberation and meeting by the Committee, which falls under the Prime Minister, and provide administrative and financial support for facility installation, a swift licensing process, deregulation, and system improvements. 

<7> Amendments to the Lottery Tickets and Lottery Fund Act, etc.

① Amendment to the Lottery Tickets and Lottery Fund Act

Despite the existing law restricting the sale of online lottery tickets by any person who has not entered into a contract for the sale of lottery tickets with the lottery business entity, the number of illegal sales has been increasing for several years. 

The amendment prohibits the use of a person’s good offices for such acts as selling online lottery tickets without a contract, and any person who violates such regulations shall be punished by imprisonment with labor for up to one year or a fine of up to KRW 10 million. 

② Amendment to the Act on Encouragement of Skilled Crafts

The amendment, intended to improve the public’s understanding of skilled crafts and their social and economic status, designates September 9 as a day for skilled crafts, and accordingly, encourages central and local governments to hold special events involving educational and promotional efforts. 

③ Amendment to the Special Act on the Establishment of Jeju Special Self-governing Province and the Development of Free International City

If deemed necessary for the dissemination of the ideology of peace and the purpose of a commemoration project, the state may allow Jeju Special Self-governing Province to use a portion of state-owned property under the jurisdiction of Seogwipo-si for a period of up to 10 years.