The compensation of corporation executives had been under self-control of a market before
financial crisis because it is regarded as the matter of internal management of an enterprise,
and it had been indirectly regulated to be disclosed officially the detail statements about the
compensation of executives for the purpose of protecting investors. International society has
reached consensus on the reform of an incentive system in order to regulate an excessive
incentive compensation for the executives of financial institutions since the financial crisis
around the world caused by a subprime mortgage crisis in USA.
The United States government has strengthened compensation regulation for the financial
institutions that have been given the relief loan from Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP)
since the financial crisis, and thus the financial institutions have coped with the regulation by
repaying early the loan of TARP in order to escape from the regulation.
Hereupon, the Obama administration suggested the comprehensive principle regarding the
compensation system of financial institutions on June 10 in 2009 and further, U.S House of
Representatives passed ‘Corporate and Financial Institution Compensation Fairness Act of 2009’
including the contents to regulate the compensation of a corporation and financial institutions
on July 31 in 2009 and U.S Senate is discussing the issue.
Meanwhile, Financial Stability Forum (FSF) announced ‘Principles for Sound Compensation
Practices’ as one of 3 measures to strengthen a financial system at G-20 summit in London on
April 2 in 2009 for the sake of innovating the incentive compensation system for the financial
institution’s executives, and Financial Stability Board (FSB) submitted ‘Principles for Sound Compensation Practices : Implementation Standards’ at G-20 summit in Pittsburg on September
25 in 2009. Now, financial regulators of all nations have prepared for detail enforcement
regulations in accordance with the actual conditions of their own countries based on the
guideline of FSB.
Actually, it is very difficult to claim the post & judicial remedy through a derivative suit
against excessive incentive compensation. An excessive incentive compensation system by
short-term performance upon since the financial crisis has been recognized as a risk factor that
it is possible to threaten financial stability. Accordingly, the incentive compensation system of
the financial institutions in Korea also needs to be improved under the cooperation with the
global trends to regulate an incentive compensation system.
Incentive compensation for executives in Korea is not excessive like the financial institutions
of advanced countries. In the regulation reform of an incentive compensation system, therefore,
We should arrange the incentive compensation system coinciding with actual conditions of
Korea considering the balance between an economical incentive system and the risk
management not to cause social and economical loss owing to excessive risk aversion of the
financial institutions.