Sang Yop Kang Professor of Law

“At STL, I dedicate myself to teach my students as future scientists and artists who analyze corporate governance issues with ‘warm hearts and cold brains.’ I am always happy at STL as my students develop themselves and prepare as future leaders who will accomplish 經世濟民 for their society and country.”


Bio
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Sang Yop KANG is Professor of Law (full professorship with tenure) at Peking University School of Transnational Law. He teaches and researches in the areas of corporate governance, corporate law, law and economics (of corporate law and securities regulations), capital markets, financial market regulations, and East Asian economies and legal systems. Professor Kang entered Yonsei University in Korea as a four-year full scholarship recipient (based on the national university entrance examination score). At Yonsei University, he studied economics (College of Business and Economics, graduation at top 1%). Then, Professor Kang studied at the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy. In addition, he finished his law degree at Yonsei University (College of Law, graduation at top 1%). Professor Kang holds LL.M. (Master of Law) degree and J.S.D. (Doctor of the Science of Law) degree at Columbia University School of Law.?He is also a Research Member of the ECGI (European Corporate Governance Institute), the most prestigious global academic association for the corporate governance scholarship.
At Columbia University School of Law, Professor Kang was Fiske Harlan Stone Scholar (academic distinction), Herman Finkelstein Fellow, and a research fellow in the Visiting Scholar Program. Since he taught at Peking University School of Transnational Law, Professor Kang visited Columbia Law School as a fellow in the Program in the Law and Economics of Capital Markets. In addition, he visited Harvard Law School by invitation from the Program on Corporate Governance. Professor Kang also visited as a guest scholar in law firms in Korea such as Kim & Chang and Shin & Kim (Sejong).
Since Professor Kang started teaching at Peking University School of Law in 2011, he received twice the excellent teaching award from the Peking University (best teaching prize that is awarded to one professor among the Peking University School of Law). In 2017, based on his research and article on the independent director system in China, Professor Kang won Tsinghua University’s Tsinghua China Law Review Award for Excellence in Research. Professor Kang is a lawyer. Before he studied law, he worked as an analyst and a fund manager. Professor Kang is a CFA (Chartered Financial Analyst) charter holder.
Professor Kang publishes articles in academic journals including the Stanford Journal of Law, Business & Finance, the University of Pennsylvania Journal of Business Law, the Berkeley Business Law Journal, the Virginia Law & Business Review, the Northwestern Journal of International Law and Business, Tsinghua China Law Review, and so forth.
Education
J.S.D. (Doctor of the Science of Law), Columbia Law School
LL.M. (Masters of Law), Columbia Law School
LL.B. (Bachelor of Law), Yonsei University (College of Law)
M.A.L.D. (Master of Arts in Law and Diplomacy), Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy, Tufts University
B.A. (Bachelor of Arts), Yonsei University (College of Business and Economics)
Research Experience at Other Academic Institutions
University of Tokyo: Summer Program Teaching
Stanford Law School: Researched corporate governance for the joint projects with faculty members at Stanford Law School
Harvard Law School: Researched corporate governance (invited by the Program on Corporate Governance)
Columbia Law School: Visiting Fellow (Program in the Law and Economics of Capital Markets)
Columbia Law School: Visiting Research Fellow (Visiting Scholar Program) ???? ????????????????? ????????????
Research Areas
Corporate Law (General Theory; U.S.; Korea; China)
Securities Regulations
Corporate Governance
Law and Economics of Corporations and Capital Markets
Banking Policies and Regulations
Corporate Group
Institutional Investors; Hedge Funds; Alternative Investment
Law and Finance; Law and Politics
Chinese Economic Policies; Chinese Corporate Governance; Corporate Governance and Economic Policies in East Asia
E-mail:
sykang@stl.pku.edu.cn
sang918@gmail.com

Business Associations (U.S. Corporate Law)
Corporate Governance from the Global Perspective
Economic Analysis of Corporate Law
Securities Regulation
Seminar: Corporations and Financial Markets
Seminar: East Asian Economic Structure

Publications
Book Review: Independent Directors in Asia, Cambridge University Press?AsianJournal?of Law and Society (forthcoming, 2019) (single-authored)
Optimally Restrained Tunneling: The Puzzle of Controlling Shareholders’ “Generous” Exploitation in Bad-Law Jurisdictions, in The Law and Finance of Related Party Transactions: A Comparative Analysis (project organized by University of Oxford and Goethe Universit?t, Frankfurt), Cambridge University Press (2019) (single-authored; an abbreviated version of “Generous Thieves”: The Puzzle of Controlling Shareholder Arrangements in Bad-Law Jurisdictions, Stanford Journal of Law, Business & Finance (2015))
“Game of Thrones”: Children’s Competition and Corporate Governance Issues in Family-Controlled Corporations, Berkeley Business Law Journal (2018) (single-authored)
The Independent Director System in China: Weaknesses, Dilemmas, and Potential Silver Linings, Tsinghua China Law Review (2017) (single-authored)
Rethinking Self-Dealing and the Fairness Test: A Law and Economics Framework for Internal Transactions in Corporate Groups, Virginia Law & Business Review (2016) (single-authored)
Tension Between Shareholder Primacy and (Quasi) Monopoly: A Theoretical Analysis of Controlling Shareholder Economies and China, University of Pennsylvania East Asia Law Review (2015) (single-authored)
“Generous Thieves”: The Puzzle of Controlling Shareholder Arrangements in Bad-Law Jurisdictions, Stanford Journal of Law, Business & Finance (2015) (single-authored)
Taking Voting Leverage and Anti-Director Rights More Seriously: A Critical Analysis of the Law and Finance Theory, Columbia Journal of Asian Law (2015) (single-authored)
Competition Law Meets Corporate Governance: Ownership Structure, Voting Leverage, and Investor Protection of Large Family Corporate Groups in Korea, Peking University Transnational Law Review (2014) (co-authored with Nansulhun Choi)
Re-envisioning the Controlling Shareholder Regime: Why Controlling Shareholders and Minority Shareholders Often Embrace Each Other, University of Pennsylvania Journal of Business Law (2014) (single-authored)
Transplanting a Poison Pill in Controlling Shareholder Regimes: Why It Is So Difficult, Northwestern Journal of International Law and Business (2013) (single-authored)
Other Publications
Rethinking Self-Dealing and the Fairness Test: A Law and Economics Framework for Internal Transactions in Corporate Groups, Oxford Business Law Blog (based on the invitation from University of Oxford, the summary of an article with the same title—which was published by The Virginia Law & Business Review in 2016—was posted on the blog)
Presentations
Shareholder Stewardship in Korea, Conference at King’s College London (forthcoming, September 2019)
Foreign Listing and Bonding Theory (tentative title), Symposium at University of Tokyo (forthcoming, August 2019)
The Vanke-Baoneng Case and Beyond: Hostile Takeover and Corporate Governance in China, Comparative Corporate Governance Conference 2019, Singapore Academy of Law (January 2019)
(Startup Companies and Their) Control Issues, Legal and Funding Issues for Successful Startups, Peking University School of Transnational-University of California, Berkeley Joint Conference (December 2018)
Corporate Groups, in the Perl River Delta Academy of International Trade and Investment Law (PRAIA) Program (November 2018)
Hostile Takeover and Corporate Governance in China: Based on the Vanke Case, Conference on Corporate Governance and Business Transactions in Asia, National Singapore University (jointly organized by National University of Singapore and Stanford Law School) (September 2018)
Hostile Takeover and Corporate Governance in China: Based on the Vanke Case, 2018 Trans-Pacific Business Law Dialogue, Seoul National University (July 2018)
Corporate Law and Corporate Governance, Peking Univ. STL Road Show Lecture in Fudan University (复旦大学) (June 2018)
Hostile Takeover and Corporate Governance in China: Based on the Vanke Case, Asian Law Institute (ASLI) Conference, Seoul National University (May 2018)
Unpacking Voting Leverage Mechanisms: Theoretical Analysis, 2018?Beijing Conference German and East Asian Perspectives on Corporate and Capital Market Law: Diversity?of Shareholders and Corporate Governance, Peking University (Beijing) (March 2018)
Board Composition and Independent Directors in Korea, University of Leeds (January 2018)
Corporate Groups and Internal Transactions, in the Perl River Delta Academy of International Trade and Investment Law (PRAIA) Program (November 2017)
Issuing New Shares, Convertible Bonds and Corporate Governance, Tsinghua University (清华大学) School of Law International Conference (October 2017)
Related Party Transactions in China, Goethe University (October 2017)
Related Party Transactions in China, University of Oxford (May 2017)
“King Lear Problems”: Succession and Corporate Governance Issues in Family Corporations, Peking University School of Transnational Law (Faculty Seminar) (March 2017)
“King Lear Problems”: Corporate Governance Issues of Succession in Family Corporations, University of California, Berkeley, International Conference entitled “Comparative Corporate Governance” (February 2017)
Internal Transactions and Fairness, Korea Economic Research Institute (January 2017)
“King Lear Problems”: Corporate Governance Issues During the Succession in Family Corporations, Peking University PHBS Business School (Faculty Seminar) (December 2016)
“King Lear Problems”: Corporate Governance Issues During the Succession in Family Corporations, Tsinghua University (清华大学) School of Law (Public Lecture) (December 2016)
“King Lear Problems”: Corporate Governance Issues During the Succession in Family Corporations, Peking University School of Transnational Law (Public Lecture) (December 2016)
Rethinking Self-Dealing and the Fairness Test: A Law and Economics Framework for Internal Transactions in Corporate Groups, Renmin University (人民大学) School of Law (Public Lecture) (November 2016)
Hostile Takeovers and Defenses: Lessons from Korea for China, Tsinghua University (清华大学) School of Law International Conference (October 2016)
Reconsidering the Independent Director System in China: A Silver Lining Amidst Weaknesses?, Peking University School of Transnational Law (Faculty Seminar) (October 2016)
Understanding Corporate Groups in Asia: Transnational Law and Economics Perspective, in the Perl River Delta Academy of International Trade and Investment Law (PRAIA) Program (July 2016)
Rethinking Self-Dealing and the Fairness Test: A Law and Economics Framework for Internal Transactions in Corporate Groups, Peking University PHBS Business School Seminar (July 2016)
King Lear Problem: Succession Crisis in Family-Controlled Corporations, Asian Law and Economics Association Conference (June 2016)
Cumulative Voting, Corporate Groups, and Institutional Investors, Asian Law Institute Conference (May 2016)
Rethinking Self-Dealing and the Fairness Test: A Law and Economics Framework for Internal Transactions in Corporate Groups, Peking University School of Transnational Law (Faculty Seminar) (May 2016)
Dilemmas of the Independent Director System in China, Tsinghua University (清华大学) School of Law International Conference (November 2015)
Market Dominant Corporation, Shareholder Wealth, and Welfare of a Nation: Analysis in Controlling Shareholder Economies and China, Korea Law and Economics Association Conference (June 2015)
Market Dominant Corporation, Shareholder Wealth, and Welfare of a Nation: Analysis in Controlling Shareholder Economies and China, Peking University School of Law (Faculty Seminar) (June 2015)
Refining Disciplines on State-Owned Enterprises: Lessons from China, Korea, Japan, and the ICSID Convention (with Mark Feldman), Peking University School of Law (Faculty Seminar) (May 2015)
Tension Between (Quasi) Monopoly and Shareholder Value Maximization, Korea Securities Law Association (February 2015) ?
The Puzzle of Controlling Shareholder Arrangements: Why Some Controlling Shareholders “Generously” Expropriate from Minority Shareholders, Shin & Kim (August 2014)
Re-envisioning Investors’ Anti-Director Rights Index: Theory, Criticism, and Implications, Korean Securities Law Association (July 2014)
Law and Economics Analysis on (Unfair) Self-Dealing in Chaebols: Problems, Reforms, and Evaluation, University of Tokyo Law Faculty (May 2013)
Non–legal Mechanisms for Constraining Controlling Shareholders: Analysis of “Roving” and “Stationary” Controllers, Peking University School of Transnational Law (Faculty Seminar) (March 2013)
Controlling Shareholders: “Roving” v. “Stationary”, Seoul National University Law Research Institute, International Conference “Recent Trends in Research on Corporate Law” (September 2012)
Efficiency Market Hypothesis, Behavioral Finance, and the Securities Regulation, Korea Law and Economics Association (August 2012)
S. Takeover Doctrines and Their Implications, Korea Securities Law Association (July 2012)
Evaluating Macro-level Corporate Governance Index, Peking University School of Transnational Law (May 2012)
Re-envisioning the Controlling Shareholder Regime: Why Controlling Shareholders and Minority Shareholders Embrace Each Other?, Peking University School of Transnational Law (March 2011)
Comments
Invited as a commentator at Tsinghua University (清华大学) School of Law International Conference (October 2018)
Invited as a commentator in a conference organized by National University of Singapore (NUS) and Singapore Management University (SMU) (January 2018)
Invited as a commentator at Renmin University (人民大学) School of Law in the Symposium, “The Development of Legal Journals in English in China” (December 2016)
Invited as a commentator at Renmin University (人民大学) School of Law in the conference organized by the two journals, The Frontiers of Law in China and The Journal of Contemporary China (May 2016)
Other Academic Activities
Invited as a participant in a conference, “Investors, Firms, and ESG” held at University of Oxford Sa?d Business School (June 2019)
Worked as a reviewer of a manuscript submitted to the Journal of Business Ethics (February 2019)
Organized a conference, “Legal and Funding Issues for Successful Startups” (a joint conference held by Peking University School of Transnational-University of California, Berkeley) (December 2018)
Invited as a chair/moderator in a session of a conference, “China, United States, and Comparative Law Today” held at Peking University School of Transnational Law (November 2018)
Invited as a chair/moderator in a session of a conference, “Legal Policies for Sustainable Development in China and Korea) (a joint conference held by Peking University Law School and Yonsei University Law School) (August 2018)
Worked as a reviewer of a manuscript submitted to the Journal of Business Ethics (August 2018)
Invited as a commentator in a conference organized by National University of Singapore (NUS) and Singapore Management University (SMU) (January 2018)
Invited as a participant in the discussion group at the conference of “German and East Asian Perspectives on Corporate and Capital Market Law” organized by Seoul National University and Max Planck Institute (March 2017)
Worked as a reviewer of a manuscript submitted to the Asian Journal of Comparative Law (Cambridge Journal) (December 2015)
Work-in-Progress
Hostile Takeover and Corporate Governance in China: Based on the Vanke Case (First Draft)
Related Party Transactions in Chinese State-Owned Enterprises (First Draft)
Cumulative Voting, Corporate Groups, and Institutional Investors (First Draft)
Understanding State-Owned Enterprises (First Draft)
Takeover Defense Mechanisms in Korea (First Draft)
Bonding Theory and Cross-Listing of Chinese Corporations
Why Stock Options “Can” Be Inefficient in China
Limits of Shareholder Wealth Maximization
Corporate Groups and Controlling Family Shareholders: Critiques of the Traditional View
Does Hedge Fund Activism Improve the Quality of Corporate Governance?
It Might Be Better to Live with Devils That We Know: Why Fundamental Reforms on the Controlling Shareholder System Would Fail
Efficient Market Hypothesis, Behavioral Finance, and Securities Regulation in Developing Economies
Sang Yop Kang, Professor of Law at STL, was invited to an international conference, “Legal Policies for Sustainable Development in China and Korea,” held at Yonsei University Law School. The conference was a joint academic event between Peking University and Yonsei University Law School. Professor Kang was chair of a session and moderated discussion. Participants from Peking University were Professors LI Ming (李鸣), SONG Ying (宋英), ZHANG Zhiyong (张智勇), and LIU Zhewei (刘哲玮). Professor Kang teaches and researches in the areas of corporate governance, corporate law, law and economics, regulations on capital and financial markets, and East Asian law and economies.
Professor Sang Yop Kang’s Joint Teaching at the University of Tokyo
Professor Sang Yop Kang’s Presentation on Shareholder Activism and Stewardship at the University of Tokyo
Professor Sang Yop Kang Appointed Research Membership at the ECGI
Professor Kang Invited Presentation on Business Transaction and Corporate Governance
Professor Kang Invited Presentation in Seoul
Professor Kang’s Article Published in Leading Corporate Law Journal
Professor Kang Presents on Corporate Governance at International Conference in Beijing
Professor Kang Presents at Leeds University Conference on Boards of Directors
Professor Kang Joins World-leading Scholars in Conference on?US-Asia Comparative Corporate Governance
Professor Kang Gives Invited Presentation at Oxford
Professor Kang Wins Tsinghua China Law Review Award for Excellence in Research
Professor Kang Invited to Harvard Law School and University of California, Berkeley
Professor Kang Attends?Symposium on Development of English-Language Legal Journals in China
Professor Kang Delivers Invited Lectures at Tsinghua University and Renmin University
Professor Kang Speaks at 21st Century Commercial Law Forum