Financial Services Commission (FSC) Chairman Lee Eok-won introduced an open letter of appreciation from the Asian Corporate Governance Association (ACGA), which highly evaluated Korea's capital market reform achievements, saying he would "work to help Korea's capital market leap forward as a global best market."
Lee posted an article titled "Korea's Capital Market Reforms Recognized by Global Investors, ACGA's Open Letter of Appreciation" on his social media platform X (formerly Twitter) on Tuesday. In the post, Lee said, "The ACGA has sent an open letter of appreciation to the Korean government, including the FSC, and the National Assembly." He added, "This is a very rare occurrence, and I find it rewarding and feel grateful to have received such a meaningful letter on the first anniversary of the government's launch."
The ACGA is an international organization that conducts research and advisory work to improve corporate governance and ESG in the Asia-Pacific region. Its membership comprises 105 institutions, including the National Pension Service and global asset managers BlackRock and Vanguard.
According to the letter Lee disclosed, the ACGA positively assessed Korea's recent corporate governance reforms, including the revision of the Commercial Act. In particular, it cited the clarification of directors' fiduciary duty to shareholders, the introduction of an independent director system, the strengthening of audit committee appointment procedures, and measures to expand shareholder participation as meaningful progress.
The ACGA stated, "The reforms Korea has recently pursued clearly convey to global investors its commitment to building a capital market that is transparent, accountable, and aligned with international standards." It also mentioned, as a major achievement, that the FSC had accepted the proposal to disclose shareholder meeting voting results on the same day, which was suggested during its visit to Korea in March last year and implemented starting from this year's shareholder meeting season.
Lee said, "I will continue to actively listen to the opinions of foreign institutional investors, including the ACGA."
