Government legislation ministry excludes guards from apartment reporting rule

The Ministry of Government Legislation said July 24 that security guards and other workers in apartment complexes are excluded from the legal definition of building managers empowered to report interference by resident councils. Only those with the title of building manager may file reports with mayors regarding violations of the Apartment Housing Management Act.

The ministry concluded that the law distinguishes between managers who direct overall operations and individual workers such as security guards, meaning the latter group does not possess the statutory authority to request official fact-finding investigations. This interpretation aligns with the statutory framework, which separately outlines protections for building managers under Article 65, for security guards and other workers under Article 65-2, and for housing management operators under Article 65-3.

The reasoning rests on the legislative intent to prevent corruption by protecting the individual responsible for collecting and managing maintenance fees. The ministry noted that while managers may face personnel disadvantages forcing compliance with illegal orders, extending this specific reporting right to all workers would contradict the law's goal of maintaining a unified management system with clear accountability.

While critics argued that excluding workers might allow improper interference to persist if the chief manager fails to report it, the ministry noted that employees can still report illegal activities through dedicated corruption reporting centers established under Article 93-2 of the statute.