From the Hydrogen Act to Virtual Asset Inheritance Support... Companies Unveil Innovation Proposals at Legislative Expo

Held Nov. 5-6 at the National Assembly's Central Lawn Plaza
From promoting the gaming industry to proposals on virtual assets
Companies unveil legislative proposals and more

The National Assembly-hosted 2026 National Assembly Legislative Expo was held at the National Assembly's Central Lawn Plaza for two days, November 5 and 6. The expo was organized around the idea that the National Assembly should be both a "fence of hope" that firmly protects people's lives and a "wing for innovative companies" that helps them take greater strides through new technologies and ideas. A wide range of companies took part and put forward legislative proposals. What laws and systems did they call for?

According to the National Assembly and business circles, Hyundai Motor highlighted hydrogen as a strategic asset at the expo and stressed the need for legislation such as the Hydrogen Act, proposed by Assemblyman Lee Jong-bae of the People Power Party. The current Hydrogen Act provides for a basic plan for the implementation of a hydrogen economy and stipulates that the plan must include policy directions, institutional reforms, plans for installing production facilities and hydrogen fueling facilities, and hydrogen supply and demand plans. Assemblyman Lee proposed a bill that would also add provisions such as a "cycle for establishing the basic plan," to make government policies more predictable and enable companies to draw up long-term investment plans.

National Assembly Speaker Cho Jung-sik (third from right) and Hyundai Motor President Sung Kim shake hands.

Hyundai Motor also outlined the need to pass the Hydrogen City Act (proposed by Assemblyman Hong Ki-won of the Democratic Party of Korea), which would organically connect hydrogen production, distribution, refueling and use within local communities; the Hydrogen Business Act (proposed by Assemblyman Lee Jong-bae of the People Power Party and Assemblyman Jeong Tae-ho of the Democratic Party of Korea), which would establish clear business rules for the hydrogen industry, including the roles and responsibilities of businesses and the supply, demand and trading of hydrogen; and the Hydrogen Railway Act (proposed by Assemblyman Heo Young of the Democratic Party of Korea), which would support the real-world deployment of new hydrogen-powered mobility.

Amorepacific proposed amending the Cosmetics Act to require businesses selling customized cosmetics to appoint personnel responsible for mixing and subdividing the products, as well as for quality and safety management. It called for an exception to the Cosmetics Act that would allow sales outlets where the entire preparation process for customized cosmetics is automated to appoint quality and safety managers instead of dispensing managers.

Amorepacific explained, "With the recent advances in the beauty tech industry, automated equipment has developed to the point where it can handle mixing and subdividing processes. This makes it possible to sell products mixed and subdivided using automated equipment rather than relying on existing human resources, such as dispensing managers."

The Korea Game Industry Association said, "Significant production costs must be invested before a completed game can be brought to market, but its commercial success and the recovery of that investment are uncertain," adding, "Conditions are needed to support investment in new games." It also called for "a sustained support system that connects talent development with recruitment and retention, and game production with investment, business development and overseas expansion." In this regard, the gaming industry proposed tax credits for game content production costs; legislation to promote regional game industries; easing regulations on promotional giveaways for games; improvements to identity verification requirements for games rated for all ages; and abolishing the game time selection system.

CJ CheilJedang called for legislative and institutional reforms to address gaps in recycling and foster the domestic biodegradable plastics industry. A proposed "Bio-Chemical Industry Promotion Act" would introduce legislation to promote the bio-chemical industry, including biodegradable plastics, and encourage cooperation among relevant government ministries.

National Assembly Speaker Cho Jungsik is guided by a robot dog as he takes the stage at the opening ceremony of the 2026 National Assembly Legislative Expo, held at the National Assembly’s Central Lawn Plaza on the 5th. Yonhap News.

Dunamu, which operates the virtual asset exchange Upbit, proposed revising the Enforcement Decree of the Credit Information Act to include virtual assets in the system for promptly blocking financial transactions under the names of deceased people. Under the current system, financial transactions under a deceased person's name are suspended across all financial institutions starting the day after a death is reported, to prevent fraudulent transactions using the deceased person's identity. However, virtual assets are not covered. The proposal would include virtual assets in the system to prevent such fraud.

Dunamu also called for an institutional improvement to include virtual assets in the "Safe Inheritance One-Stop Service," which allows people to conveniently check a deceased person's major assets, such as financial assets, land, vehicles, taxes and pensions, with a single application. Dunamu expects virtual assets to become eligible for the service if they are included in the Ministry of the Interior and Safety's "Standards for the Integrated Processing of Property Inquiries for Deceased Persons and Persons Under Guardianship."

A representative of a company that took part in the expo said, "Businesses sometimes face difficulties because of regulations or a lack of relevant rules. The Legislative Expo gave us an opportunity to raise these issues directly with the National Assembly. We hope this will lead to legislative review and other follow-up measures."

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