Skip to main content

Watch the Video Presentations here.

The ninth annual GCGC Conference was hosted by Seoul National University on 16 -17 June 2023 in Seoul, South Korea.

GCGC 2023, hosted by Seoul National University, offered a sophisticated understanding of how governance mechanisms can address contemporary issues. Themes of ESG integration, shareholder influence, and evolving regulatory pressures were discussed, presenting new insights into balancing economic performance with social and environmental responsibilities, underscoring the relevance of corporate governance research in an increasingly complex regulatory and socio economic landscape.

A central theme was the formalization of ESG, as highlighted in "The Hardening of ESG: Challenges and Opportunities" by Geneviève Helleringer and Christina Parajon Skinner. Their paper examined the shift of ESG practices from voluntary, principle-driven initiatives to increasingly binding regulatory frameworks in regions like the EU. They argued that this hardening of ESG practices raises potential legal and reputational risks for companies, suggesting that while regulatory rigor may enhance transparency and consistency, it could inadvertently stifle the flexibility and innovation that ESG policies once encouraged.

Another significant theme was the impact of governance frameworks on social goals, particularly in gender diversity. The study "Empower Women by Index Membership: Evidence from Japan" presented by Yupana Wiwattanakantang provided empirical evidence from Japan’s MSCI Empowering Women Index (WIN), demonstrating how index membership effectively motivates firms to improve gender diversity in the workforce, particularly at senior levels. The paper revealed that firms close to the inclusion threshold showed marked improvements in female representation and a shift toward more inclusive corporate cultures, as indicated by increased paternity leave uptake among male employees. This work emphasized the potential of targeted ESG indices to enact real social change without sacrificing profitability.

The conference also examined the relationship between corporate governance structures and firm innovation. In "Innovation: The Bright Side of Common Ownership," the authors explored how common ownership across competing firms in high-tech sectors can stimulate innovation by mitigating the “business-stealing” effect. However, in industries where market competition dominates, common ownership could suppress innovation efforts. This nuanced perspective on common ownership added depth to the debate, balancing competitive dynamics with innovation incentives.

Discussions on shareholder rights and defensive strategies featured prominently, particularly in the context of growing activism. "The Rise of Anti-Activist Poison Pills" by Eldar, Kirmse and Wittry, provided insights into how firms have adapted traditional defensive mechanisms, such as poison pills, to deter activist hedge funds rather than solely hostile takeovers. The study demonstrated that these anti-activist provisions, often implemented at low trigger thresholds, have successfully deterred activist interventions, highlighting the evolving nature of corporate defenses in modern governance.

Other themes included the impact of legal uncertainty on economic performance, highlighting how systematic legal uncertainty constrains credit supply; tenure limits for outside directors, finding that shorter tenures can lead to improved board independence and more frequent dissent against management particularly in poorly governed firms; and supply chain risks and vertical integration, showing that firms under high supply chain risk increasingly partner with local, reliable suppliers and, if financially able, pursue vertical mergers to strengthen their control over supply networks. Supply chain resilience has become a priority for governance, illustrating the need for more comprehensive risk mitigation strategies.

 

Note: This was an invitation-only event

 

                         

 

Programme

Friday, 16 June 2023 08:45 KST (01:45 CEST)

Registration

Coffee break

Lunch Break

Coffee break

Session 4

Day 1 Concludes

Reception & Dinner

Saturday, 17 June 2023 09:00 KST (02:00 CEST)

Registration

Coffee break

Lunch break

Session 7

Coffee break

Concluding remarks and Reception

Speakers

Eilis Ferran

Professor of Company and Securities Law
University of Cambridge Law Faculty and Centre for Corporate and Commercial Law (3CL)
Fellow, Research Member

Woochan Kim

Professor of Finance
Korea University Business School
Research Member

Yaron Nili

Professor of Law
Duke University School of Law
Research Member

Holger Spamann

Lawrence R. Grove Professor of Law
Harvard Law School
Research Member

Charles Wang

Tandon Family Professor of Business Administration
Harvard Business School
Research Member

Yupana Wiwattanakantang

Associate professor, Department of Finance
NUS Business School, National University of Singapore
Research Member

Dan Puchniak

Professor
Singapore Management University, Yong Pung How School of Law
Research Member

Eric Talley

Isidor and Seville Sulzbacher Professor of Law and Co-Director, Millstein Center for Global Markets and Corporate Ownership
Columbia Law School
Research Member

Geeyoung Min

Associate Professor of Law
Michigan State University College of Law

Pedro Matos

James A. & Stacy Cooper Bicentennial Professor of Business Administration (Finance)
Darden School of Business, University of Virginia
Research Member

Martin Schmalz

Professor of Finance, Economics, and Real Estate
University of Oxford Saïd Business School
Research Member

Woojin Kim

Professor of Finance
Seoul National University Business School
Research Member

Umakanth Varottil

Professor of Law
Faculty of Law, National University of Singapore
Research Member

Luh Luh Lan

Associate Professor
National University of Singapore
Research Member

Jennifer Hill

Bob Baxt AO Chair in Corporate and Commercial Law
Monash University
Research Member

Tobias Tröger

Professor of Private Law, Commercial and Business Law
Leibniz Institute SAFE, Goethe University Frankfurt, House of Finance
Research Member

Marco Becht

Professor of Finance and the Goldschmidt Professor of Corporate Governance
Solvay Brussels School for Economics and Management, Université libre de Bruxelles
Fellow, Research Member

Adriana Robertson

Donald N. Pritzker Professor of Business Law
University of Chicago
Research Member

Takeo Hoshi

Professor of Economics
The University of Tokyo
Research Member

Johan Sulaeman

Dean’s Chair and Associate Professor of Finance, NUS Business School
National University of Singapore
Research Member

Sang Yop Kang

Professor
Peking University, School of Transnational Law
Research Member

Past events in this series

Contact

Elaine McPartlan
European Corporate Governance Institute (ECGI)
Scroll to Top