조건부지분인수계약(SAFE)의 법적 문제 - 유가증권법정주의를 중심으로 -

Abstract

This paper is a study to find a suitable solution considering that SAFE(Simple Agreement for Future Equity), which was first introduced in Korea under the Venture Investment Act of 2020, has a lot of legal uncertainty due to its ambiguous legal nature and legal status. The ambiguity of the legal nature means that there is no clear legal basis as to whether the nature of a SAFE is a security, debt, equity, or derivative. The ambiguity of legal status refers to the possibility of application of related laws such as the Commercial Act and the Capital Markets Act because the law has the nature of the support and promotion act for venture companies, even if there are specific requirements for establishment of SAFE under the Venture Investment Act. In particular, the fact that signing a SAFE contract without a clear legal basis under Commercial Act may violate ʻSecurities Legalismʼ and becomes invalidated. ʻSecurities Legalismʼ requires that every securities has its legal basis for issuing securities. Regarding these legal uncertainties, this paper first considered that although the nature of SAFE was uncertain, it was not possible to exclude securities properties, and therefore the ʻSecurities Legalismʼ could be a problem. To solve this problem, the interpretive approach has limited effect in the Commercial Act, so a legislative solution that establishes the legal basis for SAFE in the Commercial Act is presented. In addition, it was recommended to prospectively review the establishment of special provisions that exclude the application of the Commercial Act and the Capital Market Act to the Venture Investment Act that introduced SAFE.