Korea Leader Vetoes Bill to Broaden Board Duties to Shareholders

Han Duck-sooPhotographer: SeongJoon Cho/Bloomberg
Lock
This article is for subscribers only.

South Korea’s acting president vetoed a landmark bill that would heighten corporate boards’ accountability to shareholders, siding with conglomerates in their dispute with reform advocates.

Han Duck-soo’s veto, announced Tuesday, quashes an amended commercial code that was passed by the opposition-controlled parliament in March. The bill proposed to rewrite the code to include boards’ fiduciary duties to shareholders and not just to the company itself.