Governance Forum: "Financial Investment Association Chairman Must Present Vision for Capital Market Growth"

The Korea Corporate Governance Forum stated on December 3 that the three candidates for the next chairman of the Korea Financial Investment Association must present a clear vision for the qualitative growth of the capital market.

The Candidate Recommendation Committee of the Korea Financial Investment Association finalized Seo Yooseok, Lee Hyunseung, and Hwang Sungyeop as the three candidates for the seventh chairman on December 1. The association will hold an extraordinary general meeting on December 18, where member companies will vote to confirm the next chairman.

In a statement released that day, the forum pointed out, "Although the association exists to establish fair trading practices among member companies and protect investors, it has not publicly expressed support for key legislative bills such as the amendment to the Commercial Act regarding directors' duty of loyalty." The forum criticized the association for its lack of proactive involvement, even though securities firms and asset management companies have benefited from the current administration's efforts to improve corporate governance.

The forum further commented, "The candidates' pledges are filled with slogans about policy, licensing, products, and execution capabilities," adding, "None of the candidates have presented plans to enhance investor protection or to correct the uneven playing field in order to increase the market capitalization and stock price valuations that determine the quality of the capital market."

The forum also emphasized that the candidates should clarify their positions on ten key issues, including: ▲measures to resolve the Korea Discount ▲opinions on the amendment to the Commercial Act regarding directors' duty of loyalty ▲stance on the principle of treasury share cancellation ▲views on the abolition of the crime of breach of trust ▲introduction of a mandatory public tender offer system, among others.

Finally, the forum stressed, "Only when the capital market is sound and grows in scale can it contribute to the real economy and become a stable investment destination for the public," adding, "The next chairman should not focus on maximizing the industry's short-term profits, but should instead prioritize building a healthy and sustainable capital market ecosystem."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.