Lawmakers To Limit FTC’s Power to Track Financial Transactions

The National Assembly has put a crimp in efforts by the Fair Trade Commission (FTC) to extend the life of the regulations allowing the economic watchdog to track financial transactions. In a policy commission meeting at the National Assembly, lawmakers were at odds over whether or not to extend the timeframe of the regulations and failed to reach an agreement.

Members of the pro-president Uri Party proposed a conditional extension of the regulations’ lifespan while members of the opposition Grand National Party (GNP) opposed any extension.

“Allowing the FTC to track financial transactions itself can improve corporate transparency,” said lawmaker Kim Bu-kyum of the Uri Party, adding, “Let’s extend the life of the legislation just once more with a set of strict conditions for initiating a probe.”

“These temporary regulations have already been extended once,” Yi Seong-hyun of the GNP said, voicing opposition and went on to say. “Another extension will violate the phase-out clause of the regulations.”

“Big corporations’ inside trading has been rooted out, and the FTC tracking financial transactions violates the principle of warrant,” said Um Ho-seong, another GNP lawmaker.

The regulations, which allow the FTC to track the financial transactions of a corporation that the watchdog investigates for inside trading, will expire on February 4, 2004. The FTC is seeking a three-year extension by making a legislative revision proposal to the National Assembly.

Ki-Jeong Ko koh@donga.com