Shareholder voting rights, private equity fund limit
The Korea Herald republishes a weekly legislative report by local law firm DR & AJU LLC to provide the latest information on bills approved, proposed, pending and set to be promulgated. — Ed.
Proposed Bill: Partial Amendment to the Commercial Act
Proposed by Rep. Lee Jung-mun (Democratic Party of Korea)
● The bill would broaden the scope of directors' duty of loyalty to include shareholders as well as the company, and limit the largest shareholder's voting rights to three percent when appointing audit committee members.
Proposed Bill: Partial Amendment to the Financial Investment Services and Capital Markets Act
Proposed by Rep. Kim Hyun-jung (Democratic Party of Korea)
● The bill would reduce the borrowing limit for private equity funds from 400 percent to 200 percent of their net asset value. It would also require them to report to the Financial Services Commission any conflict of interest and measures for its control in asset transactions through SPCs or related-party deals.
Pending Bill: Partial Amendment to the Distribution Industry Development Act
Proposed by Rep. Oh Sae-hee (Democratic Party of Korea)
● This bill would mandate the head of a local government to designate compulsory closedown dates and impose business hour restrictions on superstores, while requiring that the closedown dates be selected from public holidays.
Promulgated Bill: Act on the Improvement of Urban Areas and Residential Environments
Competent Authority: Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport
● Effective June 4, the amended law has significantly eased the standards and requirements for reconstruction safety inspections. It exempts apartment buildings over 30 years old from mandatory safety inspections required for reconstruction projects.
Administrative Announcement: Partial Amendment to the Enforcement Decree of the Act on the Promotion of Saving and Recycling of Resources
Competent Authority: Ministry of Environment
● The draft amendment would expand the scope of products subject to mandatory recovery and recycling to include plastic toys, which must meet a recycling rate annually determined by the Ministry of Environment.
For queries about the bills, contact cr@draju.com.
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