PEF의 법적환경과 그 성장에 따른 투자자보호 및 기업지배구조의 과제

Recently, private equity funds (PEFs) have been rapidly growing and are expected to concern financial policies and to affect corporate governance. PEFs have grown outside institutional financing. As PEFs have recently been subject to financial regulation, they should clearly be defined. In Korea, PEFs have been introduced and regulated as a collective investment under the Capital Market Act. The Capital Market Act regulates PEFs by substantially relaxing the provisions concerning public funds. So it is very difficult to grasp the legal frame of PEFs. As PEFs have originally developed in the shadow banking sector following the needs of the market, it is preferable to leave them to the market discipline and the freedom of contract. In case there is a need for regulation, its purpose should be clarified to devise appropriate measures. The PEFs also raise a problem of protecting investors, as they manage other people’s money. However, they should basically be left to private autonomy as they are composed of professional investors. They should be minimally supervised to protect financial system. Unlike hedge funds or mutual funds, PEFs can lead to the changes of corporate ecosystems as they gain control over the companies and raise the issue of financial domination of industral sector. There is also a need to pay close attention to the national economy from the viewpoint of efficient allocation of financial resources. On the other hand, financial innovation can be expected through competition between PEFs and institutional financing.