증권집단소송의 남소방지대책 = On the Measures to Prevent Abusive Securities Class Actions

다국어 초록 (Multilingual Abstract)

The Korean M inistry of Justice subm itted the Securities Class A ction B ill to the N ational A ssem b ly in N oval ber 2001. How ever, it is still highly disputed w hether the securities class action device in the U S A ., from w hich the Securities C lass Action B ill w as originated, leads to abusive litigation, and the in pact of such device on corporations and economy has been enorm ous. Therefore, before the enactm ent of the Securities C lass Action B ill, it is necessary to evaluate the m easures for the prevention of abusive litigation defined in the Bill and to identify additional legislative measures that can be added to it. The Securities C lass A ction B ill w as drafted m ain ly based on U S A . securities class action statutes, including the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. However, the B ill adopts stricter qualifications for illegal activities that m ay be sued, plaintiffs and their counsel than its Am erican counterpart. W hile securities class actions in the U S A . have been m ostly raised in the high-tech area and catastrophic am ounts of dam ages have been aw arded, the high-tech industry in K orea is still in the stage of capital form ation and K orean securities markets are highly unstable. Therefore, in adopting the securities class action device. the K orean governm ent should first focus on the m easures to prevent abusive litigation for the protection of corporations` legal rights, and gradually strengthen the m ethods to protect investors` rights. In this respect. the basic structure of the Securities C lass Action B ill, focusing on the prevention of abusive class actions, seem s to be appropriate. Nevertheless in order to prevent abusive securities class actions, it seem s that several legislative m easures need to be added. Among them it is most effective to tighten requirements for a class action. because it can block frivolous litigation in its early certification as a class action stage.