Government Officials Banned From Owing Shares

About 10 lawmakers of the opposition Grand National Party, including Rep. Kwan Young-sei submitted a revision bill to ethic laws regarding public officials. Under the revision bill, high-ranking government officials including lawmakers, ministers and vice ministers are banned from owning equities of companies related to their jobs while they are in office by introducing a “Blind trust” system.

Public attention is drawn to whether the ruling and opposition parties will narrow their differences in adopting the system, given that the ruling Millennium Democratic party recently reviewed positively the introduction of the blind trust system to prohibit high-ranking government officials from acquiring equities while they are in office.

Rep. Kwan expected, “High-ranking officials will be banned from buying company equities related to their jobs while they are in office as early as coming August if the revision bill is passed through the National Assembly`s special session in June. According to the revision bill submitted by Rep. Kwan with others, in the case that a government official is found to own company equities related to their jobs, the government`s ethic committee would issue an equity trust order to the government official. And he will have to submit a trust certificate of related equities that can be sold within fifteen days to the government ethic committee. Under the revision, if government officials leave their equities in trust, they should ask their equity trust to third parties. In addition, exchange of information between trustees and trusters will not be allowed. If violations are found, government officials involved will be dismissed and trustees will be put in prison for less than a year or be punished by a 10 million won fine.

Some incumbent government officials were found to have job-related equities. Among them, information and technology minister Jin Dae-jae (7,9194 shares in Samsung Electornics), the wife of construction and transportation minister Choi Jong-chan (203,200 shares in Limkwang Engineering & Construction), and presidential aides for economy Cho Yoon-jae (3,460 shares in Koram Bank) are included.

Jong-Hoon Lee taylor55@donga.com