벤처투자조합의 법적 성격과 소송 당사자능력에 대한 검토

This paper demystifies venture capital funds' legal characteristics and the capacity for legal standing under Korean law. In line with the rapid growth of venture capital investment, litigations brought by or against venture capital funds have increased in Korea. Although venture capital funds have de facto acted as separate economic entities in practice, the Korean court has taken a case-by-case approach for each case, resulting in inconsistent outcomes regarding the funds' capacity for legal standing. This is primarily because the features of venture capital funds have yet to be examined in court decisions. Having adopted limited partnership forms from venture capital funds in Silicon Valley, Korean Venture capital funds have been incorporated in limited partnership forms based on special statutory laws, including the Venture Investment Promotion Act or the Specialized Credit Finance Business Act. However, controversies remain in Korea over whether limited partnership forms are aggregates of contracts or separate entities. By identifying problems associated with conflicting court cases on venture capital funds' capacity for legal standing, this paper suggests relevant legal frameworks explicitly state venture capital funds' capacity for legal standing based on ascertaining venture capital funds as separate legal entities from their partners. Furthermore, it needs to be accompanied by further refinements and developments in venture capital funds' disclosure schemes, under which funds need to notify their fundamental structures, including the termination date of the funds and the general partner. These two measures may contribute to the efficient dispute resolution associated with venture capital funds, ultimately leading to developments in the startup ecosystem in Korea through active investments.