you are here: > Korean Civil Code > Article 144 
 
4. Human relationships
  
  4.4 Standards of a corporation  
  Article 144-Obligations of directors and officers of corporate entity  
144.1 Obligations of directors and officers of corporate entity  
  Consistent with the obligations of a corporation, the directors and officers of a corporation are obliged to follow fundamental standards of office that are expected to be reflected in laws relating to corporate governance as well as the constitution of each corporate entity.  
  1. That a director/officer does everything in their power to serve the interests and obligations of the corporation first, ahead of any personal interests.  
  2. That a director/officer does everything in their power to serve the interests and obligations of the staff, ahead of any person interests.  
  3. That a director/officer does everything in their power to serve the needs and requirements of customers ahead of any personal interests.  
144.2 Executive management  
  The executive management of a corporation are those officers who are duty bound to serve the obligations and interests of the corporation. The position of an executive of a corporation is a role of honor which must uphold these standards.  
144.3 Executive salary package limits  
  While a corporation in the process of trade should be free to set salary packages for executive suitable to attract the desired candidate, the social and moral obligations of the corporation take precedence.  
  A senior executive may contribute great wealth and skill to a corporation, it is their duty to do so and therefore such success must be balanced with the moderation and duty expected.  
  As a general rule, a senior executive of a non-public corporation should not receive a package that exceeds twenty times the package offered to the lowest paid permanent member of staff of the corporation.  
  For a public listed company, as a general rule a senior executive should not receive a total package that exceeds fifty times the packaged offered to the lowest paid permanent member of staff of the public corporation.  
144.4 The social importance of the executive salary package limits  
  Any society that allows the executives of its corporations to command such disproportionate salary packages compared to the staff of corporation risks sowing the seeds of unsustainable malcontent and injustice.  
  Furthermore, such behaviour risks to stability of corporate governance and the serving of the interests of the corporations to which the executives have been hired to serve.  
  It should be an objective of Republic of United Korea that wll formed corporations have an existence that potentially exceeds th life expectancy of its founders. Therefore, to encourage and ensure such sustainment, the law must ensure a level of moderation and sense prevails in the rewarding of effort of senior officers of corporations.  
  The blatant disregard of these limits shall be considered a serious civil offence with the directors of the company who approved such schemes liable for severe penalties .  
     
 
 

Copyright © 1999-2007 United-Korea.Org. All rights reserved.