IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/finlet/v64y2024ics1544612324004756.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

The effect of ex ante litigation risk on corporate fraud: Evidence from securities class action act in Korea

Author

Listed:
  • Choi, Seungho
  • Gam, Yong Kyu
  • Kim, Yong Hyuck
  • Shin, Hojong

Abstract

Using the phased adoption of the Securities Class Action (SCA) Act in South Korea as a quasi-exogenous event escalating ex ante litigation risks for Korean firms, we explore the effect of heightened litigation risks on firms’ involvement in fraudulent activities. We find that, following the implementation of the SCA Act, companies affected by the new legislation are more likely to reduce instances of corporate fraud compared to those not bound by the Act. These results suggest that the introduction of the SCA Act effectively mitigates corporate fraud by amplifying the ex ante litigation risks faced by the firms.

Suggested Citation

  • Choi, Seungho & Gam, Yong Kyu & Kim, Yong Hyuck & Shin, Hojong, 2024. "The effect of ex ante litigation risk on corporate fraud: Evidence from securities class action act in Korea," Finance Research Letters, Elsevier, vol. 64(C).
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:finlet:v:64:y:2024:i:c:s1544612324004756
    DOI: 10.1016/j.frl.2024.105445
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1544612324004756
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.frl.2024.105445?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. repec:bla:jfinan:v:43:y:1988:i:4:p:789-822 is not listed on IDEAS
    2. Arena, Matteo & Julio, Brandon, 2015. "The Effects of Securities Class Action Litigation on Corporate Liquidity and Investment Policy," Journal of Financial and Quantitative Analysis, Cambridge University Press, vol. 50(1-2), pages 251-275, April.
    3. Doidge, Craig & Andrew Karolyi, G. & Stulz, Rene M., 2007. "Why do countries matter so much for corporate governance?," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 86(1), pages 1-39, October.
    4. Doidge, Craig & Karolyi, G. Andrew & Stulz, Rene M., 2004. "Why are foreign firms listed in the U.S. worth more?," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 71(2), pages 205-238, February.
    5. Tommaso Oliviero & Min Park & Hong Zou, 2024. "Liquidity Effects of Litigation Risk: Evidence from a Legal Shock," Journal of Law and Economics, University of Chicago Press, vol. 67(1), pages 103-141.
    6. Gande, Amar & Lewis, Craig M., 2009. "Shareholder-Initiated Class Action Lawsuits: Shareholder Wealth Effects and Industry Spillovers," Journal of Financial and Quantitative Analysis, Cambridge University Press, vol. 44(4), pages 823-850, August.
    7. Murphy, Deborah L. & Shrieves, Ronald E. & Tibbs, Samuel L., 2009. "Understanding the Penalties Associated with Corporate Misconduct: An Empirical Examination of Earnings and Risk," Journal of Financial and Quantitative Analysis, Cambridge University Press, vol. 44(1), pages 55-83, February.
    8. Lowry, Michelle & Shu, Susan, 2002. "Litigation risk and IPO underpricing," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 65(3), pages 309-335, September.
    9. Nguyen, Hien T. & Phan, Hieu V. & Sun, Lingna (Selina), 2018. "Shareholder litigation rights and corporate cash holdings: Evidence from universal demand laws," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 52(C), pages 192-213.
    10. Kee‐Hong Bae & Jun‐Koo Kang & Jin‐Mo Kim, 2002. "Tunneling or Value Added? Evidence from Mergers by Korean Business Groups," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 57(6), pages 2695-2740, December.
    11. Deng, Saiying & Willis, Richard H. & Xu, Li, 2014. "Shareholder Litigation, Reputational Loss, and Bank Loan Contracting," Journal of Financial and Quantitative Analysis, Cambridge University Press, vol. 49(4), pages 1101-1132, August.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Basnet, Anup & Davis, Frederick & Walker, Thomas & Zhao, Kun, 2021. "The effect of securities class action lawsuits on mergers and acquisitions," Global Finance Journal, Elsevier, vol. 48(C).
    2. Lin, Hsien-Ping & Walker, M. Mark & Wang, Yung-Jang, 2020. "Shareholder wealth effects of corporate fraud: Evidence from Taiwan’s securities investor and futures trader protection act," International Review of Economics & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 65(C), pages 222-243.
    3. Wongsinhirun, Nopparat & Chatjuthamard, Pattanaporn & Jiraporn, Pornsit & Lee, Sang Mook, 2024. "Customer concentration and shareholder litigation risk: Evidence from a quasi-natural experiment," Journal of Behavioral and Experimental Finance, Elsevier, vol. 41(C).
    4. Degl'Innocenti, Marta & Fiordelisi, Franco & Song, Wei & Zhou, Si, 2023. "Shareholder litigation and bank risk," Journal of Banking & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 146(C).
    5. Nguyen, Nam H. & Phan, Hieu V. & Lee, Eunju, 2020. "Shareholder litigation rights and capital structure decisions," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 62(C).
    6. Yiwei Li & Wei Song & Tingyu Sun & Qingjing Zhang, 2023. "The impact of shareholder litigation risk on income smoothing," Review of Quantitative Finance and Accounting, Springer, vol. 61(4), pages 1379-1413, November.
    7. James Malm & Srinidhi Kanuri, 2017. "Litigation risk and cash holdings," Journal of Economics and Finance, Springer;Academy of Economics and Finance, vol. 41(4), pages 679-700, October.
    8. Anutchanat Jaroenjitrkam & Sirimon Treepongkaruna & Pornsit Jiraporn, 2022. "Does shareholder litigation risk promote or hinder corporate social responsibility? A quasi‐natural experiment," Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 29(3), pages 657-674, May.
    9. Roger Silvers, 2016. "The Valuation Impact of SEC Enforcement Actions on Nontarget Foreign Firms," Journal of Accounting Research, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 54(1), pages 187-234, March.
    10. Kubick, Thomas R. & Lockhart, G. Brandon & Mauer, David C., 2023. "Judge ideology and debt contracting," Journal of Banking & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 152(C).
    11. Malm, James & Soyeh, Kenneth W. & Kanuri, Srinidhi, 2023. "Litigation risk and corporate performance," Journal of Behavioral and Experimental Finance, Elsevier, vol. 37(C).
    12. Tommaso Oliviero & Min Park & Hong Zou, 2024. "Liquidity Effects of Litigation Risk: Evidence from a Legal Shock," Journal of Law and Economics, University of Chicago Press, vol. 67(1), pages 103-141.
    13. Laure de Batz & Evžen Kočenda, 2024. "Financial crime and punishment: A meta‐analysis," Journal of Economic Surveys, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 38(4), pages 1338-1398, September.
    14. Stivers, Chris & Sun, Licheng & Saha, Sounak, 2024. "Abnormal stock returns and shorting around securities class action lawsuits: The role of pre-filing news releases," Journal of Financial Markets, Elsevier, vol. 67(C).
    15. Salma Damak & Hend Guermazi & Adel Beldi, 2022. "The Stock Market Reaction to Securities Class Action Filings," International Journal of Economics and Financial Issues, Econjournals, vol. 12(6), pages 127-132, November.
    16. Xian Gu & Iftekhar Hasan & Haitian Lu, 2019. "Corporate Misconduct and the Cost of Private Debt: Evidence from China," Comparative Economic Studies, Palgrave Macmillan;Association for Comparative Economic Studies, vol. 61(3), pages 443-463, September.
    17. Arena, Matteo P. & Wang, Bin & Yang, Rong, 2021. "Securities litigation and corporate tax avoidance," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 66(C).
    18. Yongqiang Chu & Yijia (Eddie) Zhao, 2021. "The dark side of shareholder litigation: Evidence from corporate takeovers," Financial Management, Financial Management Association International, vol. 50(3), pages 845-873, September.
    19. Treepongkaruna, Sirimon & Kyaw, Khine & Jiraporn, Pornsit, 2022. "Shareholder litigation rights and ESG controversies: A quasi-natural experiment," International Review of Financial Analysis, Elsevier, vol. 84(C).
    20. Do, Trung K., 2021. "Shareholder litigation rights and corporate payout policy: Evidence from universal demand laws," Research in International Business and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 58(C).

    More about this item

    Keywords

    Corporate fraud; Litigation risk; Securities class action; Difference-in-differences;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • G30 - Financial Economics - - Corporate Finance and Governance - - - General
    • G38 - Financial Economics - - Corporate Finance and Governance - - - Government Policy and Regulation
    • K22 - Law and Economics - - Regulation and Business Law - - - Business and Securities Law

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:eee:finlet:v:64:y:2024:i:c:s1544612324004756. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Catherine Liu (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.elsevier.com/locate/frl .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.