The Ministry of Justice building in Gwacheon, Gyeonggi Province. [Ministry of Justice]
The Ministry of Justice building in Gwacheon, Gyeonggi Province. [Ministry of Justice]

An amended Commercial Act requiring listed companies with total assets of 2 trillion won ($1.33 billion) or more to hold electronic shareholder meetings will take effect in January next year, with the Cabinet on Tuesday approving an enforcement decree spelling out the detailed procedures.

The Ministry of Justice said the Cabinet approved an amendment to the Commercial Act enforcement decree to introduce electronic shareholder meetings. The Cabinet had earlier reviewed and passed an amendment to the Commercial Act mandating electronic shareholder meetings for listed companies. The amended act takes effect in January next year.

The enforcement decree requires listed companies with total assets of 2 trillion won or more — 210 companies in total as of end of last year, comprising 201 on the Kospi and nine on the Kosdaq — to hold electronic shareholder meetings. It also sets out procedures to ensure that shareholders at home and abroad can attend and exercise their rights from anywhere.

The ministry said it plans to work with the Korea Securities Depository to hold a mock electronic shareholder meeting in the second half of this year. The goal is to help companies and shareholders familiarize themselves with the new system so the regime can be rolled out without disruption from January next year.

"An environment has been created in which shareholders at home and abroad can exercise their rights without barriers of distance or time," Justice Minister Jeong Seong-ho said. "The Ministry of Justice will continue working to improve shareholder access and participation so that companies and shareholders can communicate more closely."


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