Expanding Voice Phishing Damage Relief Utilizing Virtual Assets and ..

Expanding Voice Phishing Damage Relief Utilizing Virtual Assets and Mandating Origin Disclosure on Delivery Apps- In October, a total of 84 statutes, including the Juvenile Protection Act, will take effect. Starting in October, various measures will be implemented to improve the quality of life and protect the rights of the public. These include strengthening protection for victims of telecommunications financial fraud—such as voice phishing utilizing virtual assets—and easing entrance restrictions on noraebangs (singing rooms) for juveniles to reduce economic burdens on micro-enterprises and expand youth rights. Furthermore, the origin disclosure obligations of mail-order intermediaries on food delivery applications will be reinforced to ensure food safety, and a system will be introduced to deduct overdue amounts (such as health insurance premiums) from refunds exceeding the copayment limit to enhance fairness with conscientious payers. The Ministry of Government Legislation (Minister Cho Won-cheol) announced that a total of 84 laws and regulations will newly take effect this October. The key details and enforcement dates of these forthcoming statutes are as follows. Expanding Relief for Victims of Voice Phishing Exploiting Virtual Assets and Extending Payment Suspensions (Special Act on Prevention of Losses Caused by Telecommunications Financial Fraud and Refund for Losses, October 1) To enable swift relief for victims of asset damage involving virtual assets, the scope of the law will be expanded from traditional financial institutions to virtual asset exchanges. This allows procedures for payment suspensions, the extinguishment of claims, and victim asset refunds to be conducted for virtual asset accounts as well. Additionally, a legal basis has been established enabling virtual asset exchanges to liquidate the virtual asset and issue a cash refund if the refunded asset is a virtual asset and the victim requests it. This will enhance regulatory responsiveness to telecommunications financial fraud crimes utilizing virtual assets and significantly reinforce the effectiveness of victim protection. Permitting Youth Entrance to Singing Rooms and Easing Regulations on Business Operators and Employees (Juvenile Protection Act, October 8) Regulatory improvements are being made to alleviate the economic burdens of micro-enterprises and expand cultural enjoyment opportunities for youth. The business classification for singing rooms (noraebang) is being changed from “Establishments Prohibited from Youth Access and Employment” to “Establishments Prohibited from Youth Employment,” thereby legally permitting youth entrance. In addition, youth game providers and Internet computer game facility providers (PC cafes) will be excluded from establishments prohibited from youth employment to broaden employment opportunities for youth. Furthermore, employees at youth-harmful establishments will be exempted from the mandatory display requirements regarding youth access and employment restrictions, thereby rectifying unreasonable regulations. Deducting Overpaid Copayment Limits for Health Insurance Premium Defaulters (National Health Insurance Act, October 8) To alleviate the economic burden on subscribers caused by excessive medical expenses, the settlement procedure for the “Copayment Limit System”—which refunds amounts exceeding individual maximum limits when the total annual copayments borne by subscribers exceed the cap—will be improved more rationally. When the National Health Insurance Service pays out refunds exceeding individual copayment limits, if the recipient has defaulted on health insurance premiums or other collections, the Service will be authorized to deduct the overdue amount from the excess refund before disbursement. This enhances equity with conscientious payers and prevents moral hazard among defaulters. Mandating Origin Disclosure Obligations for Mail-Order Brokers Including Delivery Apps (Act on Origin Labeling of Agricultural and Fishery Products, October 22) In line with the surge in online transactions, the responsibility of mail-order brokers—such as food delivery applications—regarding origin management is being strengthened. Persons operating mail-order brokerage businesses are now required to notify platform vendors of regulations concerning the agricultural and fishery product origin labeling system, ensuring vendors do not engage in false labeling or misleading practices. Intermediaries who fail to fulfill this notification requirement will be subject to an administrative fine of up to 10 million won.