金融商品投資에 대한 金融機關 理事의 責任에 관한 考察 -日本의 岡山市民信用金庫 事件 判決을 中心으로 -

Abstract

<ABSTRACT> A Study on Liability of a Financial Institution Director concerning Investment in Financial Products Dae Chung (Professor of Law, Division of Maritime Law, Korea Maritime University) The court of Japan judged that a director of savings bank was in violation of a duty of care and then liable to excessive investment in bonds. During the period of 1996 to 1997, a director of savings bank solely decided to make an investment in the Asian bonds. The Asian bonds included both the bonds which Asia Investment International Limited issued and the bonds which Peregrine Investment Holdings Limited issued. The investment in the Asian bonds, however, was very risky and excessive. By the way, after financial crisis of 1997 happened, value of the Asian bonds dropped sharply. As a result of depreciation of the Asian bonds, the savings bank suffered a great loss and then went bankrupt. So, RCC sued the director of savings bank for damages on the grounds of violation of a duty of care. In general, many cases that proved liability of a financial institution director were related to improper lending practices in the Japanese court. For example, a director made large loans without adequately examining the financial condition of companies and individuals. In addition, he violated the lending limit under the relevant law. So, most large loans turned out to be bad. But, the court of Japan analyzed and judged legal problems over risky investment in bonds in this case. The court applied a rule of credit line on same borrowers to this case and then decided that a director of financial institutions should obey both a duty of safety and a duty of avoiding excessive risk-taking from the viewpoint of public interest. Likewise, this judgment of the Japanese court over risky investment in bonds may be conducive to judgement of the Korean court that deals with legal issues over risky investment in bonds which a financial institution makes. In addition, in Korea a director of financial institutions should obey both a duty of safety and a duty of avoiding excessive risk-taking as the contents of a duty of care from the viewpoint of public interest. Key Words: a duty of care, a duty of safety, a duty of avoiding excessive risk-taking, financial institutions, director of savings bank, financial institution director, excessive investment in bonds, a rule of credit line on same borrowers, liability of a financial institution director