Foreign Watchdogs on Duty

To meet foreign shareholders' growing demands for transparent management, more listed companies are appointing foreigners as outside directors, the Korea Stock Exchange said Thursday.

Listed firms that close their books on Dec. 31 had a total of 1,269 outside directors as of the end of March, 68 of whom were non-Koreans, up by 13 from last year.

With 12 of its 15 outside directors foreigners, Korea First Bank leads domestic firms in that category. KorAm Bank is next with six foreign outside directors, followed by S-Oil Corp. with four. Samsung Electronics has three non-Korean outside directors; Keunwha Pharmacy and Halla Climate Control have two each.

About a third of the foreign directors are businessmen, while professors and researchers each account for a fifth of the total. Bankers, lawyers, accountants and former civil servants round out the list.

The listed company with the most outside directors is Shinhan Bank with 33, followed by Korea First, Hana Bank, H&CB and Kookmin Bank with 10 to 15 outside directors each.