중국 회사법상 노동이사제도의 발전 방안을 위한 비교법적 고찰

The trend toward integration of international capital markets due to globalization is providing more opportunities for companies around the world to seek external financing and posing new challenges related to corporate governance. As the global economy becomes increasingly internationalized, the optimization and improvement of corporate governance has become a key factor in enhancing the competitiveness of companies across various nations. The employee director system, a core element of corporate governance, not only considers the balance of power within a company and the efficiency of decision-making but also directly influences the protection of workers' rights and the sustainable development of the company. Therefore, it is no surprise that the employee director system has garnered significant attention from both the industry and academia. In this context, China further improved its corporate law system by approving the second revision of the Company Law through the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress in 2023.This revised Company Law underwent a major overhaul: it removed 16 articles from the 2018 version of the Company Law, with 228 articles amended or added (including 112 substantive modifications). As the second revision of China’s Company Law, it is widely regarded as the most significant update since the law was first enacted in 1993. This revision is also evaluated as establishing a modern corporate system framework and promoting national economic development by aligning China's corporate governance and capital raising systems with the internationalization of financial markets, thereby fostering the growth of Chinese companies into advanced enterprises that meet global standards. One aspect of the revised Chinese Company Law that draws particular attention is the provision stating that: "Where a limited liability company has 300 or more employees, its board of directors shall include employee representatives of the company, unless a board of supervisors has been established in accordance with the law and includes employee representatives of the company." This employee director system is not yet implemented in Korean commercial law, so Korean companies operating in China should carefully review the relevant legal provisions related to the employee director system. However, Korea has recently introduced and is operating a employee director system, albeit in a limited capacity. Therefore, this article will first examine the details of China's employee director system. Subsequently, by also reviewing the employee director system currently in place in Korea, this article aims to identify the issues with China's employee director system and propose improvement measures.