Proposed bill: Special Act on the Transition of Elevated Metro Lines Including Line 1 of Seoul to Underground Lines

Proposed by Rep. Lee In-young (Democratic Party of Korea)

● Elevated railways, such as Seoul Subway Line 1, are perceived to be the cause of noise pollution and safety issues. This bill aims to facilitate the implementation of projects to transform elevated railways into underground railways by establishing a dedicated organization and offering subsidies, loans and other incentives to these projects.

Proposed bill: Partial Amendment to the Act on Restriction on Special Cases Concerning Taxation

Proposed by Rep. Choe Jae-hyeong (People Power Party)

● Korea’s high tax rates on inherited shares have been criticized for discouraging business heirs from promoting their businesses and leading to an outflow of corporate assets to foreign countries. This amendment aims to encourage domestic business heirs to sustain their inherited businesses by deferring taxation on inherited shares until the time of disposal rather than at the time of inheritance.

Pending bill: Partial Amendment to the Act on Corporate Governance of Financial Companies

Proposed by Rep. Yoon Han-hong (People Power Party)

● In light of the recent occurrence of financial accidents, this amendment strengthens the board of directors' role in monitoring internal control and assigns each executive with specific management responsibilities related to internal control to promote the sound operation of internal control systems within financial companies.

Promulgated bill: Intelligent Robots Development and Distribution Promotion Act

Competent Authority: Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy

● This bill implements an operational safety certification system to ensure the safe operation of robots on sidewalks and grants certified robots a pedestrian status. It also mandates the purchase of insurance, etc., to compensate for any potential damage to people or property that may occur from the operation of robots on sidewalks.

Administrative announcement: Partial Amendment to the Examination Standards for Corporate Consolidation

Competent Authority: Fair Trade Commission

● This amendment aims to update and improve corporate consolidation examinations by reflecting the characteristics of the contemporary digital economy into the examination standards for corporate consolidation. It specifies that if a party to a corporate consolidation is an online platform business company, careful consideration must be given to network effects, tie-in sales, and bundle sales when determining the potential restriction of competition resulting from the consolidation.

The Korea Herald republishes a weekly legislative report by local law firm DR & AJU LLC to provide the latest information on bills approved, proposed, pending and set to be promulgated. -- Ed.

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For any queries about the bills, contact cr@draju.com.