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According to the amendment of the Korea Commercial Code submitted to the National Assembly by the Ministry of Justice on October 21. 2008, the surviving company at the time of merger may distribute cash or other property in lieu of its stock to shareholders of the merged company.
Now, the squeeze-out system is introduced in Articles 24 of 360 - 26 of 360 under the amended Korean Commercial Code. According to new articles of amended law, controlling shareholders who own 95% of the stock issued by a company Compulsory purchase the stocks of minority shareholders who have under 5% of issued stocks of the company, so that controlling shareholders can squeeze out minority shareholders.
The above amendment takes an somewhat liberal attitude towards the cash-out merger by newly inserting one provision that the written agreement of merger shall contain the matters concerning the particulars and allotment of merger to the shareholders of the merged company.
Much of the concern that the minority shareholders will be unfairly treated in cash-out mergers stems from so called "self-dealing" feature of cash-out merger itself. In the United States, squeeze-outs had been recognised as breaches of shareholders' vested but are regarded as methods of management efficiency.
Courts hold that a breach of fiduciary duty to deal fairy minority shareholders becomes fraud and that, in absence of fraudm the dispute is as to value of minority shares.
Given that it took even the U.S. more than fifty years to settle down the rules governing the cash-out merger along with the continuation of the legislative and judical efforts to balance the flexibility of corporate management and governance with the protection of minority shareholder rights, a lot of time and work might also be needed to make and establish the law of cash-out merter in Korea.
It is time when we should reconsider its legal system with great interest in order to harmonize with the protection of minority shareholders.