As if wooing potential foreign buyers to buy Korean banks
wasn't tricky enough, the government has decided to make it harder
for itself to hold on to the foreign investors it already has. A
curious piece of legislation passed in July is due to come into
effect this month. It has split the banking community down the
middle with regards to the problems it will cause and has also
prompted many strategic and financial investors to question whether
any investment in Korea's financial sector is wise.
On July 18 2001, Korea's judiciary committee tabled the corporate
restructuring promotion law. The same day, late in the evening,
when most congressmen had disappeared from the National Assembly
for their long-awaited holidays and evening entertainment, the
judiciary committee sent it down to the floor. It was passed, in
the words of bankers, without anyone's knowledge. Even the local
media failed to pick up on it until...
