[EDITORIALS]Keeping business lawful

The illegal acts of some “agents” who provide various services are beginning to reach intolerable levels. They are not making value-based decisions on whether the service they’ve been assigned to do is right or wrong, but rather grabbing anything in their reach if it means bringing in cash. Tracking down a certain individual is no longer a rarity. Infringement of people’s privacy, like collecting obligations through threats and violence and recording the site of a spouse’s affair, are also getting quite common. Kidnappings and contract killings are also taking place with alarming regularity. It has gone so far that a lawmaker asked an agent to tap the phones of another candidate.
It is entirely the government’s responsibility that the errand agents have steered away from their sanctioned businesses, like picking up documents, and have gotten involved in illegal acts. According to the government’s classification, the errand agents qualify in the miscellaneous service sector, allowing anyone with an office contract and personal identification to receive their business registration for such a company at the tax accountant’s office. Because there is no law on their establishment, they are not subject to government supervision. Naturally, the number of such service centers has skyrocketed and some were eventually forced to venture into illegal acts in order to make ends meet.
There are only some 200 errand agents nationwide that have registered under their proper names with tax accountants. However, when you include the total of unregistered services, the number shoots up to 2,000. It is unbelievable that all these companies are not under the government’s supervision, which adds another reason to begin illegal practices. The police are especially guilty in the current situation. When an errand agent got involved in a crime case, it would only mimic a crackdown for a temporary period and eventually allow the company to go back into business.
We must not allow them to turn into criminal organizations. In other countries, the government allows private detectives by enacting laws related to private investigations. The government must first get a grip on the current situation and crack down on the illegal acts while preparing a legal basis for the services in the long term. Plans to educate and prevent the workers from participating in illegal activities are also required.