『탄소제로 보험동맹(NZIA)』가입 사업자의 미국 반독점법 위반 문제
U.S. antitrust violations by entities participating in the Net-Zero Insurance Alliance(NZIA)
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초록
ESG 경영은 모든 산업 분야에서 기업경영의 뚜렷한 흐름이 되고 있다. 그 가운데 환경 부문에서는 탄소배출을 줄여 기후 위기에 대비하여야 한다는 공감대가 세계적으로 형성되고 그 대응 방안이 매우 다양하게 제시·실행되고 있다. 유엔환경계획(UNEP)의 「글라스고 탄소제로 금융동맹(GFANZ)」도 그중의 하나로서 금융산업의 전 분야에서 업권별로 대응하는 조직을 구성하고 개별기업이 공동목표를 달성하기 위하여 취할 행동지침을 제시하여 왔다. 보험 부문에서는 「탄소제로 보험동맹(NZIA)」이 창립되었다. NZIA는 2021. 7.에 8개 대형 보험회사를 회원으로 출발하였다. ESG 경영이 지속가능한 기업의 기본요건임을 의심치 않은 보험회사들이 속속 가입하면서 한때 회원 수가 30개 사에 이르렀다. 그러나 2023년 5월 미국 23개 주가 회원 보험회사가 NZIA 지침에 따라 보험사업을 영위할 경우 미국 반독점법에 위반하게 될 가능성이 높다고 경고하였다. 이에 회사들이 속속 동맹을 떠나 2024. 2. 10. 현재 11개 기업만 남게 되었다. 한국 보험회사는 삼성화재, 신한생명이 이미 탈퇴하였고, KB보험은 아직 남아 있다. 이 상황은 NZIA의 회원 회사 숫자가 늘고 주는 단순한 문제가 아니다. 예컨대 피보험자가 화재보험에 가입하고자 할 때 회원 보험회사들은 피보험자가 탄소배출회사라는 이유로 위험인수를 거부할 수 있는가? 보험회사는 미국 반독점법의 집단적 거래거절이나 부당한 공동행위자로 제재를 받을 것인가? 반독점법 시비는 보험 외에 은행업이나 자산운용업으로도 확산 될 것인가? 이 상황은 대선을 앞둔 미국 공화당의 정치적 공세인가 아니면 분명한 법적 판단에 따른 법집행의 예고인가? 파리기후변화협약에 탈퇴와 가입을 반복하고, 주에 따라 ESG에 반대하는 입법이 적지 않게 행하여지는 미국 상황의 일부인가? 매우 복잡한 요인들이 작동하고 있다. 그러나 세계적 보험회사들이 반독점법 위반 가능성을 매우 심각한 법적 위험으로 느끼고 있는 점은 분명하다. 본고는 NZIA의 등장과 좌절, ESG 추세와 반발, 금융산업 중에도 유일하게 연방 반독점법의 적용에서 제외되고 있는 보험사업의 반독점법 위반 가능성을 짚어 본다. 반독점법의 역외적용 문제이지만 이번 미국 23개 주의 태도에 비판적인 EU경쟁법과 기능조약(TFEU)의 입장을 소개한다. 우리 보험업법의 상호협정이나, 공정거래법상 역외적용·국제효력·법령에 따른 정당행위 등의 조항을 갖고 지금의 사태를 해결하기는 어렵다. NZIA 회원 기업이 미국 반독점법 위반에 대한 다툼에 실제로 휘말리게 될지는 지금 누구도 단정할 수 없다. 미국의 대선 결과, 공화당측의 정책 방향, ESG를 중시하는 세계적 동향 등 큰 변수와 함께 개별 주에 의한 돌발적인 소송 가능성도 유의해 보아야 한다. 법리에 따른 소송의 승패와 관계없이 미국에서 반독점법 시비에 휩싸이는 것은 사업자에게 매우 힘든 일이다. 보험회사들의 탈퇴를 비난하기는 어렵다. 그러나 보험산업 영역에서도 탄소제로는 매우 실현하기 어려운 과제임을 경험하게 되었다.
Abstract
ESG management is becoming a mainstream trend in corporate management in all industries. In the environmental sector of ESG, there is a global consensus on the need to reduce carbon emissions to fight the climate crisis, and a wide variety of initiatives have been proposed. The Glasgow Financial Alliance for Net Zero (GFANZ) of the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) is one such initiative that has formed sector-specific organizations across the financial industry and set out guidelines for action to achieve collective goals. In the insurance sector, the Net-Zero Insurance Alliance (NZIA) was launched. The NZIA started in July 2021 with eight large insurance companies as members. At one point, the number of members reached 30 as more and more insurers realized that ESG management was an essential requirement for corporate sustainability. However, in May 2023, 23 U.S. states warned NZIA member insurers that they would likely violate U.S. antitrust laws if they conducted business under NZIA guidelines. As of February 10, 2024, only 11 companies remained in the alliance. Korean insurers Samsung Fire and Maritime and Shinhan Life have already withdrawn, leaving K.B. Insurance as the only remaining member of the NZIA. This situation involves several complex issues and is more than just a matter of the number of NZIA member companies rising and falling. For example, if an insured seeks fire insurance, can member insurers refuse to underwrite the risk because the insured is a carbon-emitting company? Would an insurance company be sanctioned as a boycott or business entity of illegal cartel conduct under U.S. antitrust law? Will antitrust enforcement extend beyond insurance to banking and asset managers? Is this a political move by the U.S. Republican Party in the run-up to the presidential election or a solid legal judgment? Is it part of a U.S. context that has seen repeated withdrawals from and accessions to the Paris Agreement on Climate Change and anti-ESG legislation on a state-by-state basis? There are so many complex factors in these questions that it’s difficult to determine a definitive answer. However, leading global insurance companies see the potential for antitrust violations as a severe legal risk. This article examines the rise and fall of the NZIA, ESG trends and backlash, and the potential for antitrust violations in the insurance business, which is the only financial industry exempt from federal antitrust laws. This is an issue of extraterritorial application of antitrust law, but it also introduces the position of E.U. Competition Law and the TFEU, which are critical of the attitude of the 23 U.S. states. Art.125 Mutual Agreement in the Korean Insurance Business Act and Art.3 Application to Acts Conducted Overseas, Art.56 International Cooperation of the Fair Trade Commission, Art.116 Legitimate Acts under Statutes or Regulations in Korean Monopoly Regulation and Fair Trade Act do not solve the problem. The question of whether NZIA members would violate U.S. antitrust laws is currently unanswered. And significant variables such as the outcome of the U.S. presidential election, the policies of the Republican Party, the global trend of pro-ESG, and the possibility of sudden litigation risk should be noted. Whether you win or lose on the merits, antitrust litigation in the U.S. is an arduous process that no business entities wants to go through.
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