Go to contents

Gov`t to provide guidelines for lifting Korean style regulations

Gov`t to provide guidelines for lifting Korean style regulations

Posted March. 22, 2014 02:46,   

한국어

The government has decided to get rid of more than anything "Korean style regulations," which fail to meet international standards, regulations incompatible with the situation of modern era, and redundant regulations. The Government Policy Coordination Office at the Prime Minister’s Office decided to send guidelines on execution of regulatory reform to various ministries this month and receive implementation plans from respective ministries by May.

A ranking official at the Government Policy Coordination Office said on Friday, “We will send by end-March guidelines on which regulations to reform,” adding, “Since there is a high chance that ministries will seek to remove regulations that have effectively become invalid, and thus fill their quota of deregulation cases, we will present specific guidelines on regulations (to be removed).”

The office will present guidelines that suggest a list of five to 10 regulations to be lifted, including "Korean style regulations" that fall below international standards, regulations that fail to reflect change of eras, regulations that are lagging behind technological development, and redundant administrative regulations.

If ministries remove regulations that fail to comply with the guidelines concerned, the office plans to exclude them from achievements in improvement of economic regulations that should be removed by year’s end. At the private- and public-sector joint meeting for regulatory reform review held on Thursday, the government vowed to reduce by 1,100 cases, or 10 percent of overall economic regulations (amounting to 11,000 cases) by year’s end. Different ministries, including the Land, Infrastructure and Transport Ministry (849 cases), and the Oceans and Fisheries Ministry (489 cases), which rank first and second in number of economic regulations, must single out 10 percent of their regulations to be removed by end-May.

Notably, the government is set to proactively remove irrational Korean style regulations that only exist in Korea. The Dong-A Ilbo commissioned an analysis at the Strategy and Finance Ministry and the Korea Development Institute last month that shows regulations unique to Korea among the OECD member countries amounted to as many as 34, including the official Internet-based financial transaction authorization system, compulsory shutdown that blocks teenagers from accessing computer games, and ban on recommendation and hiring of drivers for rental cars. Concerned ministries will review whether those regulations are needed, and preferentially include them on a list of regulations subject to consideration for eradication.

Regulations that are considered for lifting are Korean travelers’ overseas shopping limits is set at 400 U.S. dollars per trip, restriction to the number of door-to-door parcel delivery vehicles, and the Korean quality certification system that requires double validations of the Korean Standard and the Korea Certification systems.