Lawmakers from the Democratic Party of Korea plan to visit corporations' annual general meeting venues in March during the "shareholders' meeting season." The aim is to check whether institutional investors such as the National Pension Service and asset management firms are carrying out their stewardship codes, and to support corporations that actively work to improve governance.
According to ChosunBiz reporting compiled on the 11th, the Democratic Party is discussing a plan, centered on the "Korea Premium K Capital Market Special Committee," for lawmakers to visit corporations' AGM sites. The special committee plans to decide specific measures at a meeting scheduled for the end of this month.
A Democratic Party lawmaker on the special committee told ChosunBiz, "We will discuss visiting corporations' AGM sites at the meeting scheduled for the end of this month," adding, "Even if we visit, lawmakers themselves will not be able to speak, but it is meaningful to list corporations that need stewardship code activities and to urge institutional investors to carry out their stewardship codes."
The special committee is pushing measures to substantively strengthen institutional investors' stewardship codes. It started from the concern that the stewardship code, operated as a voluntary norm since its 2016 introduction, lacks effectiveness. The plan is not to stop at institutional reform but to visit sites during the AGM season to check conditions firsthand. The special committee is also preparing an amendment to the National Pension Act to reflect stewardship code compliance when selecting private outsourced managers for the National Pension Service.
There is also a proposal to identify best practices in shareholders' meetings at corporations. Another Democratic Party official said, "There is also the view that we should seek out corporations that run AGMs in an advanced, competent manner," adding, "As a representative example, at a place like Pulmuone, after voting on agenda items, the management comes out and takes shareholders' questions for over an hour, so I think it is worth highlighting."
However, it has not yet been decided whether visits to AGM sites will be pursued at the special committee level or by individual lawmakers. Another official active on the special committee said, "Whether lawmakers go to AGM venues as part of the special committee or individually is a separate issue," adding, "Since positions among lawmakers have not yet been aligned, we plan to decide ahead of the AGM season."