(1) Reasons for Proposal

The Motor Vehicle Management Act was amended (Act no. 15321; promulgated on December 26, 2017; to be enforced on June 27, 2018) to prescribe that where a motor vehicle manufacturer, etc., performs a gratuitous repair on the grounds prescribed by Ordinance of the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport, he or she shall notify the motor vehicle owner of the details of the defect and the gratuitous repair plan; and that where the designation of a designated maintenance business operator or a designated maintenance business operator for comprehensive inspection is revoked on the grounds prescribed by Ordinance of the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport, the Mayor/Do Governor or head of Si/Gun/Gu shall notify motor vehicle owners of the fact of the revocation.

Accordingly, the Amendment prescribes the details of and notification methods of gratuitous repair plans, stipulates grounds and detailed notification methods for the revocation of the designation of a designated maintenance business operator or a designated maintenance business operator for comprehensive inspection, and prescribes other matters delegated by the Act and matters necessary for the enforcement thereof.

(2) Major Provisions

A. Prescribe the details and notification method of gratuitous repair plans (Article 49-7 newly inserted)

Prescribe that where a motor vehicle manufacturer, etc., performs a gratuitous repair of any defect originating from the process of manufacturing, etc., or design, he or she shall notify the motor vehicle owner of the gratuitous repair plan, including the details, caused, and repair method of the defect, by mail within 5 days of the issuance of technical information data pursuant to Article 33 (3) 4 of the Act; and allow a performance test agent to notify by mail on behalf of the motor vehicle manufacturer

B. Prescribe grounds for and notification methods of the revocation of the designation of designated maintenance business operators (Article 89-2 newly inserted)

Prescribe that where the designation as a designated maintenance business operator is revoked on any of the 12 grounds directly linked to safety, such fact shall be notified by mail or text message to motor vehicle owners whose motor vehicles were tested at the testing center concerned during 6 months prior to the date of the revocation

C. Relax inconvenient regulations (Article 113, Article 120, Article 121, Article 143)

Allow a final and conclusive court judgment to replace the motor vehicle management business registration certificate as a compulsory document submitted when reporting the transfer of a motor vehicle management business; relax motor vehicle transaction business requirements concerning exhibition facilities and offices; and allow documents on motor vehicle management business work to be stored on electronic recording devices

D. Prescribe detailed matters on sales employee training (Article 123-2 newly inserted)

Prescribe the target, details, duration, etc., of job training for sales employees
(3) Amendment Details

The Enforcement Rule of the Motor Vehicle Management Act shall be partially amended as follows.
Article 49-7 shall be newly inserted under Chapter 7, Section 2 as follows.
Article 49-7 (Notification, etc. of Gratuitous Repair plans) ① In Article 32-2 (4) of the Act, “the grounds prescribed by Ordinance of the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport” means defects falling under any of the following subparagraphs (excluding defects pursuant to Article 31 (1) of the Act):
  1. Defects originating from the process of manufacturing, etc.;
  2. Defects originating from the design process;
  3. Other defects determined and publicly notified by the Minister of Land, Infrastructure and Transport.
  ② Where a manufacturer, etc., performs a gratuitous repair on grounds pursuant to paragraph 1 in accordance with Article 32-2 (4) of the Act, he or she shall notify the motor vehicle owner of the gratuitous repair plan, including matters falling under the following subparagraphs, by mail within 5 days after the issuance of technical information data pursuant to Article 33 (3) 4 of the Act:
  1. Target of the gratuitous repair;
  2. Details of the defect;
  3. Cause of the defect and method of repair;
  4. Gratuitous repair period/venue and department in charge (including contact information);
  5. Where the defect is not repaired, its influence on the motor vehicle and precautions;
  6. Other matters deemed necessary for gratuitous repair and specified by the Minister of Land, Infrastructure and Transport
  ③ A manufacturer, etc., may request a performance test agent to send a notification pursuant to paragraph 2 on his or her behalf. In such cases, the manufacturer, etc., shall make a request immediately after the issuance of technical information data pursuant to Article 33 (3) 4 of the Act, and shall bear the actual cost of the notification.
Article 89-2 shall be newly inserted under Chapter 11, Section 3 as follows.
Article 89-2 (Notification, etc. of the Revocation of the Designation of a Designated Maintenance Business Operator, etc.) ① In the first part of Article 45-3 (3) of the Act, “the grounds prescribed by Ordinance of the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport” means subparagraphs 1, 4 through 6, and 8 through 14 of the causes falling under the subparagraphs of Article 43-3 (1) of the Act.
  ② Where a designated maintenance business operator or a designated maintenance business operator for comprehensive inspection has his or her designation revoked and the Mayor/Do Governor or head of Si/Gun/Gu, in accordance with the latter part of Article 45-3 (3) of the Act, intends to notify motor vehicle owners whose vehicles have received a regular inspection or comprehensive inspection at the testing center concerned during 6 months prior to the revocation, the notification shall be made by mail or by text message using mobile phones.
A proviso shall be newly inserted under Article 113 (1) excluding the subparagraphs as follows.
  Provided that where the transfer of a motor vehicle management business can be objectively verified through a final and conclusive court judgment, the motor vehicle management business registration certificate under subparagraph 1 may be substituted by a final and conclusive court judgment.
In the main sentence of Article 120 (1) excluding the subparagraphs, “a copy thereof shall be retained for 1 year from the date of issuance” shall read “a copy thereof shall be retained for 1 year from the date of issuance, or retained and managed after being converted to an electronic document recorded using a computer or other electronic information processing devices.” In paragraph 4, subparagraph 6 of the same Article, “sales staff” shall read, “sales employees” and in paragraph 6 of the same Article, “a copy” shall read, “a copy or electronic document recorded using a computer or other electronic information processing devices” and “retained” shall read, “retained and managed.”
In Article 121 (4), “prepared and kept” shall read, “prepared and kept, or retained and managed after being converted to an electronic document recorded using a computer or other electronic information processing devices.” In paragraph 6 of the same Article, “prepared, kept, and preserved for 3 years” shall read, “prepared and kept, or retained and managed for 3 years after being converted to an electronic document recorded using a computer or other electronic information processing devices.”
In Article 123 (1), “sales staff” shall read, “sales employees” and in paragraph 2, subparagraph 1 of the same Article, “with sales staff” shall read “with sales employees.”
Article 123-2 shall be newly inserted under Chapter 14, Section 2 as follows.
Article 123-2 (Training, etc. of Sales Employees) ① Individuals subject to training under Article 59 (2) 4 of the Act shall be sales employees eligible for new issuance, or reissuance due to expiration, of sales staff identification cards under Article 123.
  ② Training pursuant to paragraph 1 shall be conducted by a federation under Article 68 of the Act, and the content thereof shall include the following; provided that, where necessary, the federation may specify the content, etc., of the training and entrust an association with the administration thereof.
  1. Acts and Statutes relevant to motor vehicle sales;
  2. Financial management;
  3. Customer service etiquette;
  4. Electronic processing relevant to motor vehicle sales.
  ③ The duration of training pursuant to paragraph 1 shall be not less than 8 hours for individuals eligible for a new issuance of sales staff identification cards, and not less than 4 hours for individuals eligible for reissuance due to expiration.
In Article 143 (2) excluding the subparagraphs, “prepared and kept for each year and retained for 3 years (10 years for subparagraph 2)” shall read “prepared and kept for each year, or retained and managed after being converted to an electronic document recorded using a computer or other electronic information processing device, for 3 years (10 years for subparagraph 2).”
In the attached Table 21-2, subparagraph 1, Note 2 shall be as follows.
 2. The total floor area of an exhibition facility shall be calculated after excluding restrooms, stairs, hallways, and elevators. Where two or more locations are situated on different lots of land but motor vehicles for sale can be moved between the locations without road travel, or where two or more locations are situated in different buildings but are connected by a skyway, etc., that allows indoor movement, the area of each location may be combined in calculation.
In the attached Table 21-2, subparagraph 1, Note 4 shall read Note 5, and Note 4 shall be newly inserted as follows.
 4. The registration requirement under item C may be relaxed to cover areas within a 100 meter radius of an exhibition facility where it is deemed by the head of the Si/Gun/Gu concerned that, even though the office and exhibition facility are situated separately, the two locations are within walking distance; buyers are not inconvenienced or put in danger when signing an agreement; there is no influence on nearby traffic; and the transaction business can be operated in a lawful manner.
In Article 150-2 (1) 2, “Article 43 (2)” shall read “Article 43 (5)”.

Addenda

Article 1 (Enforcement Date) This Rule shall enter into force as of June 27, 2018.