A Comparative Study on Liability of Members of the Board of Directors and the Managing Director in Sweden and South Korea

The present study is a comparative study on Liability of Members of the Board of Directors and the Managing Director in Sweden and South Korea. Since there is no research which has dealt with a comparative study between the rules in Sweden and South Korea, there is ample room for research in this field of company law. In this context, the purpose of this study is to illuminate similarities and differences between the rules in Sweden and South Korea, and to in-vestigate if the rules are in need for change. This study will be carried out in a comparative context according to the comparative method, the legal dogmatic method and the legal analysis method. The main subject for this study is the liability rule in chapter 29, section 1 in the Swedish Company Act and article 399 and 401 in the South Korean Commercial Act. It has been shown in this study that the fundamental structure of the rules has many similarities while certain particular criteria in the rules display certain differences. The rules in both countries regarding liability for the board of directors and the managing director against shareholders apply under more restricted circumstances, compared to the rules regarding liability for the board of direc-tors and the managing director against the company. Based on the comparisons which have been carried out in this study, an investigation whether the rules are in need for change will be followed. In this study, it is concluded that a clearer and more specific regulation of the duty of loyalty is needed in Swedish Company Act. Meanwhile, a change in the corporate organisational structure is needed in the South Korean Commercial Act. Moreover, it is subsequently concluded that the liability rules against shareholders in both countries are too restricted and a change might be needed in order to protect shareholders’ interests