The National Assembly on May 7 passes the Framework Act on Life Safety in a plenary session. (Yonhap News)

By Koh Hyunjeong

The National Assembly has passed the Framework Act on Life Safety, which stipulates the responsibilities of the central and local governments in protecting the lives and safety of the public.

The bill on the law was passed on May 7 in a plenary session, with 188 of 191 attending members voting in favor.

The act clarifies the scope of responsibilities of the central and local governments in the event of disaster, accident or social catastrophe as well as stipulate provisions for the launch of an independent investigative body to expertly and objectively probe a calamity.

The law will take effect six months after proclamation following a Cabinet resolution.

The legislature on the same day also passed the Special Act on Asset Confiscation for Pro-Japanese and Anti-national Collaborators to the State. The law relaunches the Investigative Commission on Pro-Japanese Collaborators' Property and expands the scope of confiscation to proceeds from the disposal of assets gained through pro-Japanese activities as well as recovering properties obtained through such collaboration.

hjkoh@korea.kr