National Assembly passes bill meant to prevent conflicts of interest among public officials

The National Assembly on Thursday passed a long-stalled bill that prohibits public officials, including lawmakers, from seeking personal gains using information related to their job responsibilities.

The so-called conflict of interest prevention law was approved during a parliamentary plenary session following its passage through the Legislation and Judiciary Committee earlier in the day.

Similar anti-graft bills were proposed over the past eight years in vain before a massive land speculation scandal involving employees at the state-run housing developer, LH, provided a decisive impetus for the latest bill's parliamentary passage.

The bill requires central and regional government officials, executives at state-run companies, lawmakers and members of regional councils, now totaling around 1.9 million nationwide, to avoid any personal transactions based on information they gathered while on duty.

Under the bill, any public official who is planning to conduct personal transactions, including real estate deals, within the domain of his or her public duties is required to declare it in advance.

A violation of the proposed law resulting in gains in property could lead to criminal punishment and other disciplinary actions.

The bill also seeks to prohibit family members of high-ranking government officials or public servants in charge of public employment from seeking job opportunities at public institutions in which their families serve.

It also requires public officials in charge of real estate affairs to declare real estate holdings within 14 days of acquiring them.

The new law goes into effect one year after it gets promulgated. (Yonhap)