On October 16, announcements were made that affect building owners, social service providers, wedding hall operators, and livestock farms respectively. Since the opinion submission period for the Enforcement Decree of the Building Act is only 10 days, I will examine it first.
Today’s Key 3 Points
- Re-announcement of Legislative Notice for the Enforcement Decree of the Building Act: Multi-family housing 3 floors → 4 floors or less, floor area 660㎡ or less → less than 1,000㎡, implementation scheduled for Thursday, November 12, opinions due by Monday, October 26
- Ministry of Health and Welfare: Business suspension upon the 2nd violation of false claims for social service electronic vouchers, strengthening sanctions to up to 5 times the amount of the illegally received fine
- Fair Trade Commission: Advance notice of fines to 17 wedding service providers for failing to disclose prices and cancellation fees, final imposition scheduled for late October
1. Allowing 4 Floors for Multi-family Housing, Re-announcement of Legislative Notice for the Enforcement Decree of the Building Act
- What will change: The floor limit for multi-family houses (dagagu) will change from 3 floors or less to 4 floors or less, and the standard for the total floor area of residential use for a single building of multi-household (dasedae) or multi-family (dagagu) houses will change from 660㎡ or less to less than 1,000㎡ (Annex 1). Multi-household houses built under a construction permit will also be able to receive relaxation of floor area ratio standards if they install community facilities for residents (Draft Article 6). As the separation distance toward the north to secure sunlight moves to the main text of the Building Act (Act No. 21880, effective November 12), the provisions of the Enforcement Decree will be reorganized.
- To whom: Building owners, architectural design offices, and small-scale housing developers planning to construct or expand multi-family or multi-household houses.
- From when: Re-announcement of legislation from October 16 to October 26 (Mon). According to the supplementary provisions of the amendment, the effective date is Thursday, November 12, 2026, and it will apply to cases applying for construction permits or construction reports (including changes) after the effective date. As it has not yet been decided by the Cabinet meeting, the final effective date must be re-confirmed upon promulgation.
- Administrative agent (administrative scrivener) comment: This amendment pairs with the Enforcement Decree of the National Land Planning and Utilization Act (floor limit for multi-family houses in Class 1 General Residential Areas) covered in the October 14 briefing. If you are preparing to construct a multi-family house, it is advisable to compare during the design stage whether it is advantageous to time your permit application after November 12, and also to check the floor limits in the relevant local building ordinances and district unit plans.
2. Business Suspension for 2nd Violation of Fraudulent Receipt and False Claims of Social Service Electronic Vouchers
- What will change: The Ministry of Health and Welfare has announced measures to strengthen the management of fraudulent receipt of social service electronic vouchers. By amending relevant laws and regulations, business suspension can be imposed for a second violation of false claims alone, and the calculation standards for administrative fines will be changed to allow fines of up to 5 times the amount of fraudulent receipt. The period for determining repeated violations will be extended from 2 years to 5 years, and the basis for imposing additional charges in case of unpaid fines will be pursued. At the payment stage, location information will be verified with the consent of the user and the provider, and QR/biometric authentication payments, where the user approves at the start and end of the service, will be increased.
- To whom: Service providers, service personnel, and users of 13 electronic voucher projects, including disability activity support.
- From when: Payment inspections during long-term hospitalization have been expanded to all 13 projects starting from September. Location information verification will be applied step-by-step after system development is completed by next year, and the regular sharing of suspicious payments with Si/Gun/Gu (city/county/district) will begin from July 2027. The implementation date for business suspension and fine standards is undecided as it requires legal amendments.
- A word from the administrative agent (administrative scrivener): The practice of service providers keeping users’ cards is classified as a ‘card possession’ type of fraudulent receipt, so it is advisable to rectify this immediately. Since the fraudulent receipt management system is also included in the social service quality evaluation indicators, you must match and keep payment records with actual service provision records to respond to on-site inspections and recovery procedures.
3. 17 Marriage Service Providers Failing to Disclose Prices, Fines Imposition Procedure Begins
- What is changing: As a result of inspecting major business operators in the wedding hall and wedding planning agency industries starting from August, the Fair Trade Commission confirmed that 17 business operators omitted parts of the prices for optional items or failed to separately display information for each affiliated business, and has issued a prior notice of fines. Under the Mandatory Disclosure of Important Information, the items subject to disclosure include the details and fees for each basic service and optional item, as well as the penalty and refund calculation standards in the event of contract cancellation or termination. The places for disclosure are the business website or the Korea Consumer Agency’s “Cham-ga-gyeok” (Price Comparison) + the cover of the contract. Restricting price viewing by requiring membership registration may also constitute a violation.
- To whom: Wedding hall businesses and wedding planning agency businesses that handle studio, dress, and makeup packages.
- From when: The grace period for the notification ended in May 2026, so it is already being applied. For these 17 business operators, the fine amounts will be finalized by the end of October after a period of at least 10 days for submitting opinions. The specific fine amounts have not been disclosed.
- Administrative agent (administrative scrivener) comment: If you have received a prior notice, it is advisable to submit an opinion within the opinion submission period, using the supplemented screen showing the disclosures and the contract cover as evidence. Since registering on “Cham-ga-gyeok” involves sending the standard form or the existing online page URL to the Korea Consumer Agency via email (wedding@kca.go.kr), even small-scale businesses without a website can fulfill their disclosure obligations through this method.
4. Establishment of Animal Welfare Livestock Direct Payment, 30 Million Won Limit per Occurrence
- What will change: The Animal Welfare Livestock Direct Payment System will be newly established under the Enforcement Decree of the Public Interest Direct Payment Act (Articles 51 to 57). Payments will be made to farmers who produce livestock products at animal welfare livestock farms as defined by the Animal Protection Act. The payment amount is calculated as (Unit Price × Production Volume), with a limit of 30 million KRW per instance (unit price and limits may be adjusted starting from the 6th instance). The livestock products eligible for payment will be announced by the Minister of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs, and the application and payment processes will be managed by the head of the Si/Gun/Gu (Mayor/County Governor/District Head). If payments are received through false or fraudulent methods, all payments will be suspended and reclaimed, and eligibility may be restricted for up to 5 years.
- To whom: Livestock farms that have received animal welfare livestock farm certification or are preparing for certification.
- From when: Legislative notice period is October 16 to November 25 (Wed). It will take effect 6 months after the date of promulgation according to the supplementary provisions; the promulgation date is yet to be determined.
- A word from the administrative agent (administrative scrivener): Since the selection requirement is to continuously meet the certification requirements under Article 63 of the Animal Protection Act, your certification maintenance records will serve as the basis for payment. It is advisable to organize your certification renewal timing and rearing records in advance to facilitate application after implementation, and to check whether your products are eligible once the public notice for eligible livestock products is released.
Deadlines to Watch This Week
- October 26 (Mon): Deadline for submitting opinions on the re-legislative notice of the Enforcement Decree of the Building Act
- Late October: Final imposition of fines for 17 marriage service providers scheduled
- November 12 (Thu): Implementation of the Building Act amendment (legal provisions on sunlight height restrictions) and the scheduled implementation date for the amendment to the Enforcement Decree
- November 25 (Wed): Deadline for submitting opinions on the Enforcement Decree of the Public Interest Direct Payment Act (Animal Welfare Livestock Direct Payment)
- Business suspension, fines, etc.: First check the details of the disposition and the deadline for appeal in the official disposition notice
This briefing is a guide organized by Hwang Yunsang administrative agent (administrative scrivener) Office based on public data. Whether these apply to individual cases requires verification with the competent authorities.
This is the Hwang Yunsang administrative agent (administrative scrivener) Office, handling licensing/permits and administrative appeal matters in Songdo, Incheon. If you are in a similar situation, please feel free to leave an inquiry.