This study set out to investigate if the Capital Market and Financial Investment Business Act was fit for the goal of investor protection based on its Investor Protection System and especially the regulations for investment solicitation and prevention...
This study set out to investigate if the Capital Market and Financial Investment Business Act was fit for the goal of investor protection based on its Investor Protection System and especially the regulations for investment solicitation and prevention of conflict of interest by introducing the legislation cases of other countries. It also reviewed the problems with the investor protection regulations, examined the need to supplement the system in terms of legal principles, and suggested alternatives.
(1) There is a need to create a middle concept such as quasi-professional investors between professional and common investors and to recognize a shift to quasi-professional investors in order to reinforce investor protection and increase its efficiency. The subordinate laws also need to classify and categorize common investors in more detailed manners so that they can receive differential treatments according to their wealth, investment experiences, and age.
(2) The suitability principle of common business act regulations related to investment solicitation in Capital Market and Financial Investment Business Act should have devices to secure the effectiveness of an investigation into investment solicitation. When a product is recommended to general investors, they must be provided with a written document to explain about the reason for the concerned product's suitability. It's also necessary to prepare for explicit regulations to recognize compensation responsibility for the violation of the suitability principle.
(3) Although the focus of explanation duty, which was introduced to protect investors under Capital Market and Financial Investment Business Act, is placed on protecting the rights of investors, it does have limitations as an effective means of investor protection. In other words, there are few cases in which financial investment companies are held accountable for compensation due to their negligence of explanation duty as the duty can be easily fulfilled through a simple formal act. Thus preventive systems to specify the explanation duty regulations are more important than accountability for compensation after a violation of explanation duty. The degree of explanation, the scope of explanation items, and explanation methods are important to decide if an agreement should be closed or not and accordingly should become more specified. In addition, there is a huge need to introduce regulations to enforce administrative restraints for a violation of explanation duty.
(4) One of the measures for conflicts of interest, Chinese Wall should be accompanied by a supervisory agency's constant supervision of conflicts of interest, which should be regulated in a way that pursues harmony between the maximum synergy effects according to the addition of financial investment by respecting the autonomy of financial investment companies as much as possible and the maximum protection of investors. Without the will of financial investors, ex ante regulations for conflicts of interest, which take complex and various forms, cannot help facing restrictions. Thus conflicts of interest in Capital Market and Financial Investment Business Act should be approached from the perspective of ex post regulations or protection of investor rights rather than ex ante regulations. Therefore, it's needed to divide the ways to prevent conflicts of interest into combination of another business into in-house management, parent company, and holding company and to let financial investors choose combination of another business in management for themselves. Punishment in case of conflict of interest should be strict enough to threaten the very existence of the company itself so that financial investors can do their best in setting up systems and educating the management and employees to prevent conflicts of interest. Furthermore, it's also important for autonomous regulation agencies to provide preventive activities and education regarding the prevention of conflicts of interest.