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Building legislative support system

In South Korea, the Constitution grants the National Assembly the power to legislate while allowing the executive branch and other institutions to exercise legislative power over subordinate legal documents.

Photo: moleg.co.kr

Legislative power in South Korea rests solely with the National Assembly. A bill can be submitted to the National Assembly with the consent of more than 10 lawmakers. If the bill contains provisions related to budgetary measures, lawmakers may seek assistance from the Legislative Affairs Office under the National Assembly Secretariat in drafting it.

Each committee of the National Assembly can also introduce a bill within its jurisdiction on behalf of the committee chair. In such cases, the committee may establish a task force to draft the bill, which can be passed or amended after a process of inquiry, debate, and examination.

According to the Constitution, the government can also propose bills. Government-initiated bills are submitted to the National Assembly in the name of the President, with signatures from the Prime Minister and relevant ministers. The Supreme Court, National Election Commission, and the Board of Audit and Inspection are not authorized to propose legislation but may offer recommendations for necessary amendments to related laws. In such cases, the Speaker of the National Assembly forwards their suggestions to the relevant committees for review.

Government legislative activities cover both government-proposed laws and subordinate legal documents, including enforcement decrees, ministerial ordinances, and notices. Ministries responsible for policy research may draft bills on issues under their jurisdiction. If a bill affects multiple ministries, they collaborate on its drafting. Throughout the process, policy guidelines must be clear and objective. Drafters analyze and forecast the goals, impacts, financial requirements, contingencies, alternatives, and effects on the current legal system.

Leading digital transformation in legislative activities

South Korea is recognized as a global leader in e-government and digital government development, especially in digital transformation within the legislative process. The country's national legislative support system is built on a national information infrastructure consisting of five key networks including the administrative information network (connecting government agencies), the financial information network (including banks and insurance agencies), the education and research network (connecting universities and research institutions), the defense information network, and the national security information network—all established in the 1990s.

Since 2001, the South Korean government has focused on developing the National Law Information Center and the Legislative Support System. The aim of digital transformation in legislation is to ensure public access to legal information, safeguard the right to know, facilitate online processing of legal matters, streamline government legislative processes, and expand public participation.

Currently, South Korea’s legislative support system is an integrated platform consisting of three key components including the National Legislative System, the Citizen Participation Legislative Center, and drafting software for regulatory documents. This system integrates the entire lifecycle of a law into a single platform, supporting the drafting, review, and publication process.

Combating corruption in legislative processes

South Korea places great emphasis on preventing corruption, and conflicts of interest in the legislative process. Since 2006, the country has institutionalized corruption impact assessments through amendments to the Anti-Corruption Act. Article 12 of the Act stipulates that "the review of corruption-prone factors in laws and subordinate legal documents" is a function of the Anti-Corruption and Civil Rights Commission.

The Commission is responsible for identifying corruption risks in draft laws and regulations. It can review government decrees, Prime Minister’s directives, ministerial regulations, notices, and guidelines for potential corruption risks and recommend necessary revisions. Procedures and methods for such reviews are specified in presidential decrees. The Commission analyzes legal provisions to detect and eliminate potential corruption risks, providing guidance on evaluation criteria and methods to ensure effectiveness.

Although the guidelines do not define “corruption,” they highlight risk factors such as compliance difficulty, the appropriateness of compliance burdens, adequacy of sanctions, potential for preferential treatment, clarity of financial support standards, transparency of administrative procedures, accessibility, and conflict of interest risks. The focus is on prevention rather than linguistic ambiguity or logical inconsistencies in draft documents.

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