소위 ‘경제민주화입법’과 징벌적 손해배상제도

In Korea, there is triple damages clause in Fair Subcontract Act. The act proscribes that “the Conglomerate can be responsible of triple damages when it steal and misuse the important technical materials, which was provided by the small companies during subcontract negotiation.” The triple damages clause can be called a kind of punitive damages. This triple clause was recently amended and is applicable to Conglomerate's other misdealing in subcontractors in Korea. According Korean triple damages clause, negligence misconducts in subcontracts can be liable. In the U.S., where the punitive damages are prevalent, the punitive damages usually is a legal remedy for fraudulent, malicious, oppression, grossly negligent misconducts, not for just negligent misconducts. In recent years, there are several changes for punitive damages to cap and limit at the federal and state levels in the U.S. Compared with the U.S.'s punitive damages clause, the Korean triple damages clause can be broadly applicable to even the Conglomerate's just negligent misconducts. It might be needed to adjust the scope of triple damages clause to protect properly the interests of both parties in subcontracts in Korea.