Legal Compliance and Korea Financial Services Market : Strategic Approach

This article is to upgrade the level of compliance in Korean financial services market. The current situation is a vicious circle of continuous scandals, politicized criminal investigations, uncontrolled sentencing by courts and discretionary pardons. Various laws offer all of everything. Public prosecutors can charge individuals for several years of imprisonment. Regulatory agencies can impose civil fines on corporate entities. Independent audit committees, compliance officers, and compliance programs are mandatory for most financial institutions. Nonetheless, the current situation is far from the ideal. I propose several options to improve the present. Making rules to be complied with should become clearer. Vigorous compliance programs should be rewarded in deciding the criminal liability of corporations and in sentencing individuals as well as legal personalities. In the long run, the focus of enforcement should move from public to private, and from criminal to administrative sides. Finally, I argue education programs should be developed and fostered