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DongWook Kang, Tony --- "The Range and Scope of Accounting Books and Records" [2012] ELECD 872; in Kim, Hwa-Jin (ed), "Korean Business Law" (Edward Elgar Publishing, 2012)

Book Title: Korean Business Law

Editor(s): Kim, Hwa-Jin

Publisher: Edward Elgar Publishing

ISBN (hard cover): 9781781003398

Section: Chapter 6

Section Title: The Range and Scope of Accounting Books and Records

Author(s): DongWook Kang, Tony

Number of pages: 26

Extract:

6. The range and scope of accounting
books and records
Tony DongWook Kang

I. INTRODUCTION

While the right of a shareholder to inspect account books and records
does not seem to be recognized in all countries, it is common to be an issue
only during a control dispute. This is because the company's management
has no reason to reject a shareholder's demand for inspection of company
records if the shareholder has a good relationship and communicates
well with the management. The former part of Section 7 "Accounting of
Company" of Chapter IV "Stock Company" of the Korean Commercial
Act provides for the shareholder's right to inspect the balance sheet,
income statements or business reports that may be easily accessed by
the shareholder, whereas the latter part of Section 7, i.e., Article 466
provides for the "Shareholder's Right to Inspect Account Books" which
immediately precedes Article 467 (Inspection on Affairs and Status of
Company's Property) that provides for the shareholder's right to apply for
the appointment of an inspector to investigate the affairs of the company
and the status of its property. Given the above structure of the Korean
Commercial Act, our legislators are presumed to have prepared these
latter provisions having taken into account a control dispute.
As in the case of Japan, Korea appears to have introduced the provisions
concerning the shareholder's right to inspect account books and records
similar to those adopted by the laws of the United States.1 ...