기관전용사모펀드 규제에 대한 최근 논의 동향과 개선방향

Recent events and scandals involving private equity funds (PEFs) in Korea, which have had significant impacts on the stakeholders of target companies, have triggered discussions on strengthening the regulatory framework for PEFs under the Financial Investment Services and Capital Markets Act. Measures such as reducing leverage limits, enhancing disclosure obligations, restricting asset stripping, and imposing mandatory tender offers could serve as mechanisms to protect the shareholders, creditors, and employees of the target company. The United States and the European Union, which have traditionally refrained from directly regulating private equity, have also begun to adopt or discuss additional regulatory measures in response to the growing size of private equity and its expanding influence over stakeholders. However, in Korea—where a relatively stringent regulatory framework is already in place—caution is warranted in further tightening regulations, given the inherent nature of PEFs as investment vehicles, as well as the regulatory arbitrage issues involving foreign private equity. As an alternative, consideration should be given to selectively providing information from PEFs to stakeholders and supervisory authorities according to their specific purposes and needs, and to building infrastructure that enables effective use of such information. In addition, reflecting the recent trend of incorporating non-financial factors into not only equity investments but also debt financing, the active role of major institutional investors, including the National Pension Service, as well as domestic financial institutions providing acquisition financing to foreign private equity, should also be explored.