Yulchon Launches Dedicated Desk Ahead of Mandatory Electronic Shareholders’ Meetings [Law Firm News]

[Financial News] As listed companies with total assets of 2 trillion won or more will be required to hold electronic shareholders’ meetings alongside in-person meetings starting next year, Yulchon LLC is launching a dedicated organization to support companies in adopting the system and operating their shareholders’ meetings.
Yulchon LLC announced on the 18th that it would launch a Dedicated Electronic Shareholders’ Meeting Advisory Desk to support companies from preparation and actual operation through post-meeting dispute resolution.
Under the amended Commercial Act and its Enforcement Decree, listed companies with total assets of 2 trillion won or more will be required to hold electronic shareholders’ meetings alongside in-person meetings starting next year. According to the Ministry of Justice, approximately 210 companies will be subject to the requirement as of the end of 2025, including 201 KOSPI-listed companies and nine KOSDAQ-listed companies.
Electronic shareholders’ meetings differ from simply streaming an existing shareholders’ meeting online. Shareholders attending electronically can participate in real time, ask questions, make remarks during the meeting, and exercise their voting rights.
Companies must review not only the construction of their electronic systems but also their overall approach to operating shareholders’ meetings. They need to revise their articles of incorporation and internal rules, while establishing standards for shareholder questions and remarks and procedures for exercising voting rights. New practical issues may also arise, including the handling of personal information, responses to communication disruptions, and the division of responsibilities between the electronic shareholders’ meeting administrator and the company.
To meet this demand, Yulchon LLC formed the dedicated desk with attorneys specializing in corporate governance, information technology (IT), and personal information protection. On February 14, it also held a special seminar titled “How Should Companies Prepare for Electronic Shareholders’ Meetings?” covering relevant legal and practical issues.
The dedicated desk will provide advice throughout the entire process, from analyzing laws and systems related to electronic shareholders’ meetings to establishing company-specific operating frameworks.
Specifically, it will support the analysis of Ministry of Justice notices, related agencies’ guidelines, and authoritative interpretations; the revision of internal rules, including articles of incorporation and shareholders’ meeting operating standards; the selection of an electronic shareholders’ meeting administrator and review of outsourcing agreements; the design of procedures for shareholder questions, remarks, and voting; the establishment of emergency response systems for situations such as communication disruptions; and the preparation of practical manuals.
After the system takes effect, the desk plans to continue providing advice beyond preliminary rehearsals and support on the day of the shareholders’ meeting, covering post-meeting responses to disputes with shareholders that may arise during the electronic shareholders’ meeting process.
The dedicated desk will be jointly led by attorneys Seong Mun, a member of the 38th class of the Judicial Research and Training Institute, and Kim Hyun-jung, also a member of the 38th class.
Attorney Seong Mun has primarily handled corporate governance and ESG investment matters. At the National Pension Service’s Fund Management Headquarters, he served as a responsible investment manager and head of the shareholder rights exercise team, gaining experience in exercising voting rights and submitting shareholder proposals involving listed companies in Korea and abroad.
Attorney Kim Hyun-jung focuses on corporate governance and mergers and acquisitions (M&A). She has advised major corporate groups in Korea on governance structures, board operations, and shareholders’ meetings of listed companies. She has also served as an ESG committee member at the Korea Deposit Insurance Corporation (KDIC) and as an instructor in the Korea Listed Companies Association’s training program for compliance support professionals.
Yulchon LLC plans to combine the two attorneys’ experience in corporate governance and shareholder rights exercise with specialists in IT and personal information protection. Through this approach, it will address both the legal issues surrounding electronic shareholders’ meetings and problems that may arise during their actual operation.
Attorney Seong Mun said, "Electronic shareholders’ meetings are not simply a system that adds another means of participating in a shareholders’ meeting; they change the way shareholders and companies communicate in real time on the day of the meeting." He added, "Rather than stopping at interpreting the law, I will focus on designing practical electronic shareholders’ meeting operating systems tailored to each company’s shareholder composition and existing meeting procedures."
Yulchon LLC plans to continuously reflect developments in the systems and rules of the Ministry of Justice, the Korea Listed Companies Association, the Korea Securities Depository (KSD), and other related institutions. It also plans to prepare materials needed for corporate operations, including standard operating rules, communication disruption response manuals, and checklists for outsourcing agreements with administrators.
[email protected] Yoo Sun-jun Reporter