New Bill Imposes 30-Day Detention on Penalty Offenders

Offenders with a habitual failure to pay a penalty will be put in detention for a maximum of 30 days.

The universities’ primary information, such as financial status and graduates’ employment rate, will go public, and those who cheated on the national academic aptitude test will be suspended from applying for the exam for maximum two years.

The South Korean government held a Cabinet meeting at Cheong Wa Dae on August 22, presided by President Roh Moo-hyun, and decided on bills to regulate social order offenders including those who habitually fail to pay a high penalty.

According to the bill, which is likely to become effective next June, if offenders volunteer to pay the penalty, their penalty amount could be reduced, but if they fail again, they will have to pay additional charges. In addition, information regarding those who habitually fail to pay the high penalty will be turned over to the trust services, and the bill allows the detention period to be set within a 30-day period through a trial.

The bill will give administration offices the right to inspect illegal activities that endanger social order for effective collection.

The government also has decided to make it mandatory for universities to go public with primary information regarding the condition of the students and teachers, graduates’ employment, and financial status, which aims to enhance the quality of universities and to provide assistance for students and their parents, and companies when they select or evaluate universities.

Applicants caught in the act of cheating on the national academic aptitude test will be suspended from applying for the test for maximum two years, not to mention the confiscation of their exams.

Hyung-June Park lovesong@donga.com