Sejong Law Firm, led by managing partner Oh Jong-han, announced on September 14 that it is strengthening its integrated advisory system for listed companies through the launch of its Electronic Shareholder Meeting Task Force (TF) in anticipation of the full implementation of the electronic shareholder meeting system in 2027.
Starting January 1, 2027, listed companies with total assets exceeding 2 trillion won will be required to hold both in-person and electronic shareholder meetings. Companies preparing for electronic meetings must address various legal and practical challenges, including selecting management agencies, establishing contracts, setting internal operational standards, notifying shareholders, verifying identities, and managing communication disruptions, as well as ensuring data privacy.
The Electronic Shareholder Meeting TF has been operational since discussions on the system began. Sejong proactively established the Corporate Governance Strategy Center and the Corporate Governance Research Institute to provide advisory and dispute resolution services related to shareholder meetings, board operations, and management disputes for numerous listed companies. Following the enactment of the revised Commercial Act, which introduced electronic shareholder meetings in July 2022, the TF has been active in publishing practical papers to address unprecedented operational issues in South Korea.
The TF plans to provide timely legal services throughout the entire process of shareholder meetings, from pre-meeting preparations to post-meeting dispute resolution, based on the insights accumulated thus far.
Key tasks include diagnosing each company's articles of incorporation, shareholder composition, existing electronic voting operations, and potential disputes. The TF will support the following steps: resolutions and notifications for holding electronic shareholder meetings, reviewing contracts with management agencies, establishing internal operational standards and meeting scenarios, setting guidelines for questions and voting rights, creating manuals for communication disruptions and emergencies, conducting pre-meeting rehearsals, managing operations and drafting minutes on the meeting day, and addressing disputes afterward.
The Electronic Shareholder Meeting TF is led by Lee Dong-gun, a governance expert with extensive experience, along with attorneys Lee Sook-mi, Oh Se-ron, Choi Myung, and Baek Seung-woo, who have successfully handled numerous high-profile management disputes. Additionally, attorney Ahn Jung-ho, who has experience working with the Korea Communications Commission and has served as a legal advisor to the Personal Information Protection Commission and the Ministry of Science and ICT, and Ahn Hyo-seop, who has managed IR and shareholder relations for major companies like Samsung and Hyundai, are also part of the team.
Given that electronic shareholder meetings intertwine corporate law issues with information and privacy regulations, Sejong aims to provide comprehensive support from pre-meeting consultations to day-of operations and post-meeting dispute resolution through a single point of contact.
To commemorate the launch of the Electronic Shareholder Meeting TF, Sejong will host a hybrid seminar titled "A to Z for Successful Electronic Shareholder Meeting Preparation" on September 29.
This seminar will not only explain the revised regulations and introduce management agency services but will also align with the actual workflow of practitioners preparing for electronic shareholder meetings.
In collaboration with IR Q-Dus, the management agency that has worked with the TF, the seminar will review what decisions companies need to make and document at each stage, including selecting management agencies, establishing internal operational standards, notifying shareholders, managing operations on the meeting day, and post-meeting records and disclosures. Participants will closely examine the actual screens that operate within the management agency's system.
Particularly, the seminar will demonstrate specific scenarios requiring company judgment, such as electronic attendance verification, electronic attendance by proxies, submission and selection of questions and comments, voting rights exercise and tallying, distribution of votes in cumulative voting, and responses to communication disruptions.
Lee Dong-gun, managing partner and head of the Corporate Governance Strategy Center, stated, "Electronic shareholder meetings go beyond merely broadcasting traditional meetings online; they must substantively guarantee the rights of electronically attending shareholders while ensuring the legality of decisions and fairness with in-person shareholders. Sejong will provide comprehensive solutions tailored to each company's situation based on our accumulated experience in shareholder meetings and management disputes, proactive research, and collaboration with management agencies and practical experts."
* This article has been translated by AI.
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