National Assembly Passes Series of Livelihood Bills... Restrictions on "Abusive Protests" Near Schools

Restrictions on Abusive and Noisy Protests Near Schools
Passage of the Revised Education Environment Protection Act
Expulsion Law for Insurance Planners with a History of Fraud
Approval of Bill to Prevent Sudden Closures of Mutual Aid Provi

On August 20, the National Assembly held a plenary session and passed over 70 livelihood-related bills, including those to restrict rallies and protests that infringe on students’ right to learn near schools and to prevent individuals with a history of insurance fraud from joining the insurance industry.

The amendment to the Act on the Protection of Educational Environment, which was passed on the same day, mandates that police must immediately notify the school principal upon receiving notice of a rally or protest in an educational environment protection zone. If the school principal determines that students' right to learn is clearly at risk due to serious noise, repeated swearing or abusive language, or discriminatory or insulting expressions, the principal may request the police to prohibit or restrict the rally or protest.

Seung-Ah Baek, a member of the Democratic Party of Korea, said, "Freedom of expression is fundamental to democracy, but that freedom does not mean the right to intrude without limit into children’s places of learning," adding, "This amendment serves as a minimal safeguard to ensure that children's right to learn is respected."

On the 20th, at the plenary session held in the National Assembly, an amendment to the National Assembly Act, which shortens the so-called 'fast-track' review period from the current maximum of 330 days to 90 days, is being passed. August 20, 2026. Photo by Hyunmin Kim

An amendment to the Insurance Business Act was also passed, shortening the procedure for expelling insurance planners and others involved in insurance fraud and restricting their re-entry into the insurance industry. Under the amendment, if the disqualification of insurance planners, insurance agencies, or insurance brokers is objectively established by a court ruling or similar means, their registration may be canceled without a hearing. Violations of financial regulations related to insurance are also included as grounds for disqualification, and the period during which a corporate general agency (GA) executive can be sanctioned for violations resulting in a sentence has been extended to five years.

An amendment to the Installment Transactions Act, which aims to prevent consumer harm from the sudden closure of funeral service providers, was also passed. If a funeral service provider closes or its registration is canceled, resulting in a reason to pay consumer compensation, the process and status of such payments must be made public. Credit extensions to controlling shareholders or specially related parties are also limited to within 50% of the company's capital.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.