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Research Article

A Study on the Economic Efficiency of Corporate Reorganization

Kwon, Sehun

Published: January 2004 · Vol. 33 No. 6 · pp. 1847-1873
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Abstract

This paper analyzed the efficiency of corporate reorganization proceedings after the foreign exchange crisis using data from listed firms that filed for court-administered reorganization between 1991 and 2002. To this end, the dynamic aspects of the insolvency system, the externalities of collective corporate insolvency resolution, and the role of judicial discretion—which had not been sufficiently emphasized in prior discussions—were constructed as the main analytical framework. The paper argued that the principle of super bankruptcy needs to be applied in handling collective corporate bankruptcies, and demonstrated through empirical analysis that the super bankruptcy principle operated to a considerable degree effectively during Korea's foreign exchange crisis period. The main conclusions are as follows. First, during the foreign exchange crisis period, many firms with favorable business prospects filed for court-administered reorganization, and the reorganization process was carried out swiftly and relatively successfully. Meanwhile, the further reduction in the initiation period thereafter may indicate the possibility that decision-making at the initial stage of reorganization was deferred to later stages, although alternative interpretations cannot be ruled out given the large amount of still-ongoing data. Second, the court-administered reorganizations during the foreign exchange crisis period necessitated swift processing due to constraints on judicial resources arising from the handling of collective corporate insolvency cases, and to mitigate the economic shock from a large number of firms being liquidated simultaneously, reorganizations were primarily initiated rather than dismissed. Third, the shortening of reorganization processing periods after the foreign exchange crisis began prior to the amendment of the Corporate Reorganization Act, and there were significant differences in the changes in processing periods and outcomes between the Seoul District Court and other regional courts, suggesting that judicial discretion played an important role in the operation of Korea's corporate reorganization system. Fourth, while the amendment of the Corporate Reorganization Act had a significant impact on corporate reorganization after the foreign exchange crisis, the provisions that shortened the deadlines for decisions at each stage and reduced the scope of other judicial discretion may impede flexible corporate insolvency resolution tailored to individual circumstances going forward.
Keywords: 기업파산(도산)사법적 재량실물옵션외환위기우량기업효과 가설이연된 실패 가설초-파산최적파산처리기간회사정리법