58 Legal Professionals Among Outside Directors of Top 100 Companies... 22 Are Women

According to a survey conducted by The Law Times through the Financial Supervisory Service's electronic disclosure system (DART) on the status of outside directors in the top 100 domestic companies by market capitalization, a total of 58 outside directors are legal professionals, accounting for 13% of all outside directors (459). As court rulings increasingly strengthen the compliance monitoring duties of inside and outside directors, the demand for legal professional outside directors is also rising among companies. In the top 50 companies by market capitalization, the number of legal professional outside directors increased from 21 in 2013 to 34 this year, a 62% increase.

[Image source=Beomryul Newspaper]

Namwoo Lee, chairman of the Korea Corporate Governance Forum, analyzed, "While foreign countries tend to appoint former CEOs or senior executives as outside directors, in Korea, businesspeople tend to be reluctant to serve as outside directors for other companies, increasing the demand for professors and legal professionals." He added, "With recent increases in issues related to fair trade, capital markets, and commercial law, there is a clear tendency to consider it beneficial to have legal experts on the board."

This year, there are a total of 22 female legal professional outside directors, accounting for 38% of the total (58). Male legal professional outside directors total 36.

This year, 18 legal professional outside directors were newly appointed or reappointed, of whom 5 are women. △Deoknam Hwang (67, 13th class), a former judge who served as legal secretary during the Roh Moo-hyun administration and as a non-standing member of the National Human Rights Commission, was newly appointed as an outside director of Korea Zinc. △Jeongyeon Kim (44, passed the first bar exam), a lawyer from Kim & Chang law firm and professor at Ewha Womans University Law School, was newly appointed as an outside director of Hankook Tire & Technology. Additionally, △Misook Yeo (58, 21st class), professor at Hanyang University Law School, was reappointed as an outside director at LG Energy Solution; △Sujin Kang (53, 24th class), professor at Korea University Law School, at LG Electronics; and △Youngjae Shin (57, 26th class), lawyer at Law Firm Lin, at Yuhan Corporation.

The increase in female legal professional outside directors is largely attributed to the amendment of the Capital Markets Act implemented in August 2022. The amendment prohibits listed large corporations with assets exceeding 2 trillion won from composing their boards solely of one gender.

Wang Miyang (56, 29th class), president of the Korean Women Lawyers Association, said, "The legal amendment has provided female legal professionals with more opportunities to expand their activities," adding, "Women are demonstrating particular strengths in both capability and fairness by confidently expressing their opinions within boards, and we expect the advancement of female legal professionals to become even more active in the future."

28% Are Current Law School Professors

The appointment of law school professors was also notable. Among all legal professional outside directors, 16 are law school professors, accounting for 28%. Including Professor Yoonhee Choi, who was appointed as an outside director at two companies, law school professors occupy a total of 17 outside director positions.

This year, 5 law school professors were newly appointed or reappointed as outside directors. Among female legal professionals, professors Misook Yeo, Sujin Kang, and Jeongyeon Kim were newly appointed.

Approximately 64% (37) of all legal professional outside directors are currently practicing law firm attorneys. Among them, 17 (46%) belong to major law firms such as Kim & Chang and Yulchon. The distribution is as follows: △Kim & Chang 10 △Yulchon 2 (attorney and advisor) △Bae, Kim & Lee; Sejong; HwaWoo; Barun; Daeryook Aju 1 each.

This year, 5 attorneys from major law firms were newly appointed or reappointed. Among them, 3 belong to Kim & Chang, the largest number. Yongdeok Kim (67, 12th class), former Supreme Court justice, and attorneys Seonwook Lee (54, 27th class) and Changjae Lee (59, 19th class) are serving as outside directors at CJ CheilJedang, Hyundai AutoEver, and GS, respectively.

Preference for Former Officials Remains

The preference for former officials continued this year. Among the 18 legal professionals newly appointed or reappointed as outside directors this year, 9 (50%) are former judges and 6 (33%) are former prosecutors. Only 1 (5.6%) is from a purely private practice background.

Newly appointed include Yongdeok Kim, former Supreme Court justice and Kim & Chang attorney (CJ CheilJedang); Misook Yeo, former Seoul High Court chief judge and professor (LG Energy Solution); and Kyungsoo Kim, former Daegu High Prosecutor and Yulchon attorney (Samsung C&T).

Reporters: Ji-in Yoo, Hyun Ahn, Jinyoung Lee, The Law Times

※This article is based on content supplied by Law Times.

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