Lee Bok-hyun: "Delay in Re-voting on Commercial Law is Unconstitutional... Double Standards"

"The failure to vote on the re-deliberation request for the Commercial Act (amendment) goes against the spirit of the Constitution. While criticizing the delay in appointing Constitutional Court justices as unconstitutional, postponing the re-deliberation procedure clearly stipulated by the Constitution is difficult to defend against accusations of double standards."

Yonhap News

On the 10th, Lee Bok-hyun, Governor of the Financial Supervisory Service, after concluding the 'Asset Management Company CEO Meeting' at the Korea Financial Investment Association in Yeouido, Seoul, told reporters, "If the delay in appointing Constitutional Court justices is unconstitutional, then the failure to vote on the criminal law is also unconstitutional."

When the right to request re-deliberation (veto power) is exercised on a bill, the National Assembly must go through a re-vote procedure. For the re-vote, the conditions of a majority of the total members present and at least two-thirds approval of those present must be met. However, currently, it is highly likely to be rejected with only opposition party seats. As the possibility that the Democratic Party of Korea might delay the re-vote on the Commercial Act amendment has been raised, Governor Lee’s criticism is interpreted as a response to this.

He emphasized, "There are two tilted playing fields in the market: the imbalance between major shareholders and minority shareholders, and the burden of criminal punishment on companies," adding, "If you are sincere about protecting minority shareholders, the Democratic Party should clarify its position on the parts that the business community uses as grounds to oppose reform."

He further criticized, saying, "If the re-vote on the Commercial Act is delayed and the issue of excessive criminal punishment on companies is ignored, it admits that the policy issue was pushed recklessly without proper review due to partisan interests." He added, "Conservatives should also be able to engage in discussions to ease the burden of criminal punishment on companies, such as reducing breach of trust charges or abolishing special breach of trust charges."

Regarding Hanwha Aerospace’s rights offering, he stressed that it will proceed according to principle. He said, "Sufficient information necessary for investors and other stakeholders to make judgments must be adequately stated in the securities registration statement," adding, "If there are deficiencies, we will request corrections regardless of the number of times." He explained, "We will maintain strict review principles while ensuring that the funding schedule is not disrupted by conducting prompt reviews."

Regarding the MBK Partners investigation, he explained that since meaningful facts have been confirmed, actions according to procedures will be taken. Earlier, the Financial Supervisory Service revealed that it detected the possibility that MBK was preparing to file for corporate rehabilitation (court receivership) before Homeplus’s credit rating downgrade and is currently conducting an investigation. He said, "In MBK’s case, although it is not yet finalized, meaningful facts were confirmed during the inspection and investigation process," adding, "We are currently preparing to communicate with the prosecution and the Securities and Futures Commission and plan to take procedural actions within this month."

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