VOL.15 ㅣ October, 2014 ㅣ NATIONAL ASSEMBLY RESEARCH SERVICE, REPUBLIC OF KOREA ㅣ www.nars.go.kr

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• < Issue Brief > • Title - Regulations on the Instant Messaging Services in China and its Implications • Author : Kim Yoo-hyang (Chief Researcher; Science, Media and Telecommunication Team) • Published : October 16, 2014 • Summary: This report illustrates main contents of the Provisional Regulation on the supervision of Instant Messaging and Public Information Services issued by the Chinese government, and examines the background, effects, and the meaning of the Provisional Regulation. The main contents of the Provisional Regulation include the real-name registration on public accounts of instant messaging tools, and the prior approval system for political news publications. This report argues that the enforcement of the Provisional Regulation could affect the freedom of expression and mobile social network industry. • < Field Survey Report > • Title - The Launch of the European Parliamentary Research Service (EPRS) and its Impact Assessment System • Author : Lee Hyun-chool (Counsel; Politics and Administration Research Office), Cho Kyu-beom (Legislation and Judiciary Team) • Published : September 19, 2014 • Summary: After thorough comparative analyses in advanced parliamentary research services and parliamentary libraries in Germany, France, UK, and US, the European Parliament launched the European Parliamentary Research Services (EPRS) in November 2013, to offer a range of quality services to support parliamentary activities. The primary mission of EPRS is to assist Members of Parliament and increase the Members and EP Committee's capacity in their parliamentary work by providing them with independent, objective and authoritative analysis of, and research on, policy issues relating to the European Union. This report shows the basic concept and philosophy behind the establishment of EPRS, main contents, functions and characteristics of new legislative and policy research services, and the impact assessment system of EPRS that the authors have learnt from a field trip to EPRS. Then, it presents sustainable development plans for research services for the Parliaments. 10.16. Regulation on the Instant Messaging Services in China and its Implications 10.14. Recent Issues regarding Foreign Ownership of Domestic Land and Improvement Tasks 10.13. The Establishment of Peoples Financial Institutions and Relevant Issues 10.07. Change of Resident Registration Number System: Main Issues and Tasks 10.02. Current State of U-Healthcare and Relevant Tasks 10.01. Main Contents and Issues of the System for Corporate Income Recirculation 09.30. Main Contents of the Architectural Service Promotion Act and Future Tasks 09.29. The Basic Act on the Hydrologic Cycle in Japan and its Implications 09.24. Main Contents and Issues of the 2015 Budget Proposal 09.19. The Launch of European Parliamentary Research Service (EPRS) and its Impact Assessment System 09.18. Current State of Total Tax Burden and the Public Social Expenditure and its Implications

On 15 October 2014, the National Assembly Research Service held a joint seminar on 'Proposed Regulatory Reform to Implement Reasonable Competition Policy in Financial Industry' with the Chairman Chung Woo-taik of the National Policy Committee and other institutions including Korea Federation Bank, Korea Financial Investment Association, Korea Life Insurance Association, and General Insurance Association of Korea. The purpose of the seminar was to allow for an exchange of expert views on legislative issues for preventing redundant regulations between those by financial regulators and by the Fair Trade Commission, and a reasonable division of roles between the regulating authorities. At the seminar, Attorney Park Sung-bom of Yulchon LLC and Researcher Lee Seung-jun of Korea Insurance Research Institute advanced the topic presentations on 'Plans to harmonize the financial law and competition law', and 'Plans to mitigate the risk of finance companies after administrative guidance' consecutively. In the following session of comprehensive discussion, Director Kim Sung-ha (Competition Policy Division of the Fair Trade Commission), Director Kim Yong-beom (Financial Policy Division of Financial Services Commission), Director Min Sung-ki (Korea Federation Bank), Researcher Sung Seung-je (Korea Legislation Research Institute), Professor Hong Dae-sik (Sogang University Law School), and Researcher Kang Ji-won (National Assembly Research Service) participated in a thorough discussion on issues regarding the topic presentations. Past Seminars and Discussions 10.22. Current State of the Diplomatic Relationship between the Republic of Korea and the People's Republic of China, and Relevant Issues 10.22. Issues and Tasks regarding the Policies to Protect Whistleblowers in Korea and Japan 10.17. Main Issues on the Korea-Japan Relations and Tasks of Korea 10.16. The Government 3.0, e-Government, and the Big Data 10.15. Proposed Regulatory Reform to Implement Reasonable Competition Policy in Financial Industry 10.14. Case Studies of Teachers' Group on Personality Education and Improvement Plans 10.13. The Personality Education Networking Project and Improvement Plans 10.08. Democratization of the Electoral System in Uzbekistan 10.01. Main Contents and Issues of the 2015 Budget Proposal 09.30. Role of Parties for Vitalization of the Youth Politics 09.25. Current State of the Minimum Wage Index and its Implications The NARS Newsletter is issued on a monthly basis