독일의 이사회 차원에서의 공동결정제도와 수용가능성 검토

Since 2016, workers began to appoint some directors in public corporations affiliated with the Seoul Metropolitan Government, and amendments to the Commercial Law have been proposed to allow minority shareholders and employee stock ownership associations(or workers’ representatives) to recommend one independent director candidate each. As there was many disputes surrounding it, German system, which is realizing a co-determination system, has attracted attention once again. This article aims to gain implications by introducing the German co-determination system, where workers participate in the supervisory board, and examine whether it can be accommodated in our company law. Some disagree this with the grounds that workers’ participation in management violates the Constitution or impairs the efficiency of corporate management. However, I came to the conclusion that workers’ participation can be introduced without violating our constitution, the issue of efficiency is hard to say which one is superior, and acknowledging the participation of workers is more consistent with the principles of democracy. The implication from the German system is that the way workers participate in the selection of independent directors or audit committee members, both performing supervisory functions, can be a starting point for workers to participate in management.