Ministry of Interior and Safety revises operating standards; tightens rules on private member expertise and limits former civil servants

The central building of the Government Complex Sejong [Ministry of Interior and Safety]
The central building of the Government Complex Sejong [Ministry of Interior and Safety]

The Ministry of Interior and Safety said Thursday it will revise its operating standards for local government shared-property review panels to strengthen transparency and the quality of their deliberations.

The panels review key decisions on local government shared property, including acquisitions, disposals, changes in designated use, and reductions in usage or lease fees.

The revisions make in-person deliberation the default, replacing a practice in which some local governments had relied primarily on written reviews and fallen short on disclosing meeting minutes.

Written reviews will still be permitted in exceptional cases — such as when in-person meetings are impractical due to natural disasters or other emergencies, or when renewing the use of property already provided free of charge under law.

Under the revised standards, panels must keep written minutes of all in-person sessions and release those minutes upon request under the Act on Disclosure of Information by Public Institutions.

Minutes may be withheld when disclosure could fuel real estate speculation or unfairly benefit or harm specific individuals. However, once the grounds for confidentiality are resolved — such as after a local assembly vote or the completion of an acquisition or disposal — the records must be made public immediately.

The revisions also require that private-sector panel members bring a balanced range of expertise, with lawyers, accountants, certified appraisers and other specialists from diverse fields encouraged to participate in equal measure. To protect deliberative independence and prevent favoritism, former civil servants may make up no more than one-third of the private-member quota.


thlee@heraldcorp.com