More Duties for Non-Executive Directors

Senior non-executive directors who are higher in rank than existing non-executive directors are expected to be appointed to 90 public companies, including the Korea Water Resources Corporation (KOWACO), the Korea National Housing Corporation, and the Korea Land Corporation.

The senior non-executive directors will assume the responsibility of holding management in check by discussing issues at their own separate meetings.

The Ministry of Planning and Budget announced Thursday that the role of the board of directors will be enhanced by introducing the new system to public companies that have been named to be candidates for corporate structure reform.

Non-executive directors will exchange views on various current issues, including large-scale public projects, at separate meetings before they share their unified opinion with the management, ultimately contributing to the increased transparency of the management of public companies.

The ministry believes that it is difficult to keep the management in check with existing non-executive directors, given that the presidents of those companies currently hold the chair positions on the boards of directors of public companies.

legman@donga.com