ABSTRACT
Corporations in the Republic of Korea are developing into significant forces in the global economy. The United States business community is taking note and participating with Korean firms through collaborative deals, actively pursuing Korean companies in share acquisitions and selling massive business units to Korean entities. US foreign direct investment in Korea is on the rise, and foreign investors are pumping more and more money into the Korean stock market. Opportunities for foreign investment in Korea continue to increase as the government moves rapidly in privatising state-owned businesses.
Korea’s continued emergence as a global economic powerhouse comes just ten years after the Asian Financial Crisis. Since that time, corporate governance standards and laws in Korea have been the topic of concern and debate. In the early 2000s, the World Bank and the Institute of International Finance, Inc (‘IIF’) despatched task forces to evaluate corporate governance in Korea and to make recommendations for Korea’s future development. Both assessments were concluded in 2003. This note is a critical link in updating the legal literature on developments in Korean corporate governance since the 2003 reports.
The note begins by displaying the recent impact Korean corporations have had on global business and finance. It then sets forth the five most significant elements of Korean corporate governance that were categorised as in need of further development by the World Bank and IIF corporate governance assessments. The remaining portion of the note establishes that Korea has answered the call of the economic development organisations by instituting corporate governance best practices in the five areas via a variety of interventional techniques from various groups and constituencies.
