Fair Fund 분배사례 분석 및 운영방향 연구―미국 Citigroup Fair Fund 사례를 중심으로―

Fair Fund is a fund established by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to distribute disgorgements and civil penalties to defrauded investors. And many Fair Funds were established by the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002. Recently, in Korea, the Lime Fund has been under probe over its alleged cover-up of massive losses and subsequent suspension of fund redemption worth an estimated 1.6 trillion won ($1.39 billion), as well as another Optimus Fund case. This study is to examine the U.S. Fair Fund system and seek some valuable insights from it for introducing it into Korea. Already, some drafts for amending the Korean Capital Market Act to establish the Fair Fund system was enacted in December this year, and some will be likely to be on the table of the National Assembly. To help ensure effective and efficient operation of the Fair Fund in Korea, the followings are to be considered. First, under the current law, the amount of the Fair Fund is not enough to satisfy all victims, so that some new measures for collecting money is necessary, including the expanded application of money penalty system for violating the Korean Capital Market Law. Secondly, I recommend that Fair Funds must be overseen by the financial supervisory, among others. In some cases, the courts can also order to establish a Fair Fund. Thirdly, both the Fair Fund and the class action have the similar objectives and close relationship inherent, so both have to be considered each other in their procedures. Fifth, it is desirable that a procedure to collect Fair Fund data is to be established to assist managing and monitoring fund distribution. In conclusion, to successfully operate the Fair Fund in Korea, the principles and purpose of the Fair Fund, to protect investors and maintain the integrity of securities markets, must be well observed.