KFME Welcomes Amendment to Commercial Building Lease Protection Act... “A Turning Point for Transparency in Management Fees”

[Financial News] As the amendment to the Commercial Building Lease Protection Act, which mandates transparent management of commercial building fees, passed the National Assembly of the Republic of Korea, the Korea Federation of Micro Enterprises (KFME) welcomed it as a turning point to prevent underhanded rent increases.
On the 28th, KFME released a statement, saying, “We, together with small business owners nationwide, welcome the passage of the amendment to the Commercial Building Lease Protection Act,” and added, “By ensuring transparency in management fees and mandating information disclosure, this marks a turning point in easing the burden on small businesses.”
On the 26th, the National Assembly of the Republic of Korea held a plenary session and passed 72 livelihood-related bills, including the amendment to the Commercial Building Lease Protection Act. The amendment, which consolidates bills proposed by Lee Hak-young and Sehee Oh of the Democratic Party of Korea (DPK) and Koh Dong-jin of the People Power Party, requires that protection items for management fees be included in standard contracts to enhance transparency in the management of commercial building fees.
Furthermore, the amendment requires landlords to clearly disclose management fee items at the time of contract, preventing underhanded rent hikes. If tenants request details of management fees, landlords are now obligated to provide them.
KFME described the amendment as a “solution to a long-standing issue for small business owners,” stating, “This will improve unfair practices where landlords arbitrarily inflated or operated management fees non-transparently to effectively increase rent.” The federation added, “It is significant that the political community swiftly legislated an issue that has long been raised in the field.”
KFME has consistently raised concerns to eradicate ‘indirect rent increases.’ In particular, during a meeting last April with Lee Jae-myung, then leader of the Democratic Party of Korea (DPK), the issue was officially brought up, and subsequent legislative review by the political community led to the amendment’s passage.
KFME emphasized, “This amendment is the result of the political community’s strong commitment to livelihood issues,” and expressed deep gratitude to the lawmakers who proposed the bill and the National Assembly of the Republic of Korea for passing it through bipartisan agreement. The federation added, “We will continue to do our utmost to improve systems and resolve issues affecting small business owners.”
jimnn@fnnews.com Shin Ji-min Reporter