기업지배구조와 배당수준에 관한 연구

This paper analyzes whether corporate governance affects dividend levels. Sample companies are verified using regression analysis for samples from 2018 to 2022 for securities market companies operating in non-financial businesses. First, the higher the share of major shareholders, foreigners, and institutional investors, the higher the investment in companies with higher dividend levels, so companies with higher dividend levels are preferred. Second, there was no statistically significant relationship between companies belonging to large groups and ownership and control levels. Third, looking at the indices of the Korea ESG Evaluation Institute by area, it was found that governance had a positive (+) effect on dividend levels, but the environmental and social responsibility areas were not related to dividends. Fourth, looking at the corporate governance report of the Korea Stock Exchange by area, the core shareholder indicators are positively (+) related to the dividend level, and among the core shareholder indicators, companies that notify shareholders of the dividend policy and the dividend implementation plan more than once a year seem to play a more faithful role in the shareholder return policy by maintaining a higher dividend level, while the core indicators of the board of directors and audit organizations were not related to dividends. The study's implications are that the better the governance structure, the higher the dividend level, and that major shareholders, foreigners, and institutional investors examined by investor characteristics all show a positive relationship with the dividend level. These findings imply that companies that maintain good governance are faithful to shareholder return policies, and investors prefer companies with high dividend levels. Therefore, companies can increase sustainability as companies preferred by investors by managing to increase desirable governance and shareholder return policies.