The Ministry of Economy and Finance moved to create an in-house "expert review body" and comprehensively supplement related systems after criticism over "fire-sale disposals of state property," according to reports on the 10th.
According to a compilation of reporting by ChosunBiz, the Ministry of Economy and Finance (MOEF) on the 9th briefed the Democratic Party of Korea's "fact-finding task force on the Yoon Suk-yeol administration's fire-sale of state property" on a plan built around these measures.
The plan the Ministry of Economy and Finance (MOEF) reported to the Democratic Party of Korea is said to include not only establishing an expert review body in charge of selling state property, but also revisions to the State Property Act and its enforcement decree. It would add a clause requiring prior reporting to the National Assembly when selling state property worth 30 billion won or more. It also includes a revision to the current rule that, if a general competitive bid for selling state property fails twice, the third bid starts at a price cut by 50%.
The government plans to announce improvements to the system for managing and selling state property along these lines next week. This follows President Lee Jae-myung's instruction on the 3rd of last month to "fully suspend government asset sales and, after a full reexamination of asset sales currently underway or under review, decide again whether to proceed."
Meanwhile, Democratic Party of Korea task force Chairperson Park Beom-kye and lawmakers Kim Seung-won, Heo Yeong, Park Min-gyu, Park Jeong-hyeon and Kim Hyeon, after receiving the Ministry of Economy and Finance (MOEF) briefing on the 9th, were reported to have urged, "Do not stop at improving the system; the entire sale process under the Yoon Suk-yeol administration must be transparently investigated."
In response, the Ministry of Economy and Finance (MOEF) was said to have replied, "With no compulsory investigative authority, there were limits to approaching this at a level comparable to police or prosecutors."