Yale Grad Fights the Families Who Rule Samsung to Hyundai

Led by Nam Kyung Pil, a group of 24 ruling party members submitted a bill on Aug. 6 to deny voting rights on cross shareholdings, used by families for decades to control industrial groups known as chaebol with only minority stakes. Growing public discontent with their power and the lenient treatment of white-collar crimes may help the legislation pass into law as early as this year, he said.

“Enough is enough,” Nam, a 47-year old Yale University- educated lawmaker, said in an interview in Seoul last week. “People’s resentment toward the chaebol has accumulated over the years and now it’s blown up.”

The bill is a challenge to founding families who’ve weathered past campaigns because it’s being spearheaded by members of a party that controls parliament and is traditionally pro-business, corporate governance researchers said. Korea’s tycoons may need to spend $24 billion boosting holdings or risk ceding control, according to Chaebul.com, a Seoul-based organization that collects information about conglomerates.

“If you strip them of their voting rights, that is a big deal,” said Shaun Cochran, head of Korea research at CLSA in Seoul. “It’s highly significant and could act as a catalyst to create some positive change in Korea’s corporate structures.”