Sejong, June 02 - The Ministry of Environment (ME, Minister Han Wha-jin) announced on May 29 that fourteen environmental bills, including the Framework Act on Environmental Policy and the Sewerage Act, have been passed at the National Assembly plenary session. Those bills passed by the National Assembly will be transferred for approval by the State Council. They will be enacted soon after their promulgation or on January 1, 2024. 

Under the revised Framework Act on Environmental Policy, the Korea Environmental Preservation Association (KEPA) will be renamed the Korea Environmental Preservation Institute. Although the KEPA is a public organization, it was run like a corporation with membership fees collected from air pollutant emitters, making its transparency and stability a problem. This amendment will establish the legal basis for guidance, supervision, and support by the state for the institution. Accordingly, the institution's transparency and responsibility as a public entity will be reinforced.

The Sewerage Act prohibits organizations that designed/constructed or operated/managed the public sewerage system from conducting technical diagnoses on the said public sewerage system to ensure the fairness of these diagnoses. Furthermore, the amendment establishes a state-level sewerage system by empowering the Minister of Environment to establish and manage the center for river-basin sewerage, assisting local governments in managing their sewerage systems, and supporting relevant technologies and policies.

The Environmental Education Promotion Act grants the heads of elementary schools and middle schools the authority to provide environmental education in the classroom. It will allow daycare centers to offer environmental education the same kindergartens do. It is anticipated that the revision will establish a basis for preschoolers and elementary school and middle school students to retain knowledge and competence on various environmental issues. 

The Act on the Integrated Control of Pollutant-discharging Facilities will lay the groundwork to add a type of business eligible for integrated environmental permits. It will also allow those businesses to appoint a manager who takes care of pollutant-discharging facilities, depending on the business size. The revision enables companies to manage the entire manufacturing process more professionally and thoroughly, from supplying raw materials to emitting pollutants. 

The Wildlife Protection and Management Act obligates government agencies to install and manage artificial structures to minimize harm to wildlife. Such measures may reduce the chances of animals or birds dying from dashing or flying into glass windows or soundproof walls. By the revision, the Ministry of Environment can investigate how badly wildlife was affected by colliding with or falling from the artificial structures. The Act will also lay a legal foundation for the Ministry to take preventive measures on such structures. It is hoped that the revision will help minimize wildlife's suffering from colliding or falling and create a healthy natural environment where people and nature can dwell in harmony.  

The Natural Environment Conservation Act required its Basic Policy for Conservation of Natural Environment to include "conservation of ecological axis and restoration of a damaged ecological axis." It also specified a spatial range by "national or regional units." The amended act is intended to reduce the number of roadkills, enhance biodiversity, and improve ecological axis management.

The Korea National Park Service Act clarified the legal framework for wildlife disease control, rescue, and treatment within the boundaries of national parks. Until now, there were constraints to taking these measures when African swine fever or roadkill occurred within the premises of the National Parks. However, the revision enables the Korea National Park Service to acquire the necessary human resources and budget for monitoring, controlling wildlife disease, and rescue and treatment.

The River Act allows building and improving river water intake facilities to effectively prepare for climate change such as drought and heavy rain. It will enable the government to support costs for facility improvement if necessary. A number of water intake and pumping stations were built near the upper course of a river where the water level was the lowest. It made it difficult to supply water in case of a drought caused by climate change or when water was accidentally contaminated. The amended act is expected to stabilize the supply of drinking water as well as agricultural and industrial water use, even in such emergencies or incidents.

The Persistent Organic Pollutants Control Act will prohibit a business owner from using the relevant facilities when the business owner does not comply with the order to improve emission allowance criteria for persistent pollutants such as dioxin. Until now, no administrative sanctions have been imposed to force business owners to comply with improvement orders and prohibit repeated violations. These facilities are likely to be improved in emission allowance criteria now that the revision is in place.

The Special Act on the Reduction and Management of Fine Dust will establish expiration dates for performance certification of simple fine dust measuring devices. It is expected to contribute to providing accurate information on fine dust by ensuring periodic inspection of these devices. 

Other statutes passed at the National Assembly's plenary session include The Natural Parks Act, the Act on Resource Circulation of Electrical and Electronic Equipment and Vehicles, the Clean Air Conservation Act, and the Asbestos Safety Management Act. The Natural Parks Act includes a reprimand clause where a recipient of an active order to correct the violations such as installing illegal structures or logging fails to comply. The Act on Resource Circulation of Electrical and Electronic Equipment and Vehicles provides a legal foundation for penalty surcharges and administrative proxy execution, which will replace business suspension for companies that involve vehicle recycling and waste gas processing. The Clean Air Conservation Act defines the scope of works the Ministry of Environment or local government can delegate to the Korea Automobile Environmental Association. At the same time, the Asbestos Safety Management Act obligates owners of buildings with asbestos to keep a record via the Integrated Asbestos Management Network and pay a fine of KRW 5 million in case of a violation.

The Ministry of Environment will do all possible, including organizing sub-statutes for the fourteen bills that recently passed the National Assembly. The citizens can benefit from them as soon as possible.

Contact: Shin Seung-chul, Deputy Director

Legal Affairs and Regulations Reform Division / +82-(0)44-201-6399