금융회사지배구조법상 내부통제 관련 규제의 개정과 보험회사에 대한 시사점

Abstract

The amendment to the Act on the Governance of Financial Companies, which was passed by the National Assembly in December last year, came into effect on July 3, improving the internal control system in the financial sector by introducing an accountability structure and imposing internal control management obligations. With the revised Financial Governance Act, executives of financial companies will now be obligated to manage internal control for the business under their control. This is expected to fundamentally change the behavior of internal control in the financial sector, requiring all executives to recognize internal control as their responsibility. The significance of the revised Financial Governance Act and the Enforcement Decree is the formalization of regulations related to internal control in financial institutions. As the existing regulation takes the form of a regulation that requires financial institutions to establish internal control standards, it has been a practice that perpetrators have known that they are in compliance with the regulation by preparing internal control-related systems in accordance with the Enforcement Decree or industry guidelines or standards. Nevertheless, as a result of various financial accidents, supervisory authorities have imposed specific obligations on executives and CEO of financial institutions to establish internal control management obligations and accountability structures. The revised Financial Corporate Governance Act does not reflect the characteristics of the insurance industry and applies the regulations on internal control and accountability structure to all financial institutions, resulting in inconsistencies and lack of clarity in the interpretation of some regulations. In order to improve this, the amendment proposes to enhance the harmonization of internal control regulations and regulatory differentiation considering the insurance industry's characteristics, and clarify regulations related to de facto influence and due care to resolve ambiguities in relevant regulations. With the implementation of the revised Financial Governance Act, the supervisory authorities are expected to finalize the revision of subordinate laws and regulations and prepare guidelines and operating instructions for the settlement of the system. Financial Services Commission and Financial Supervisory Service Press Release, June 11, 2024. In this regard, the insurance industry should closely examine the provisions of the system to provide clear and reasonable interpretations and guidelines that reflect the characteristics of the insurance industry, and proactively provide opinions on matters necessary for regulatory compliance so that the internal control regulatory system that reflects the characteristics of the insurance industry can be established by reflecting the contents of the relevant regulations of each association that has been operating in terms of existing self-regulation.