생명보험신탁의 법적 문제에 관한 고찰 = A Study on the Legal Issues Relating to Life Insurance Trust

국문 초록 (Abstract)

생명보험의 보험금청구권을 신탁재산으로 하는 신탁인 생명보험신탁(life insurance trust)은 생명보험과 신탁이 결합된 것이다. 생명보험신탁이 1930년대 이후부터 활성화되었던 미국과 달리, 우리나라에서 생명보험신탁이 주목을 받기 시작한 것은 최근이다. 그런데 지금까지 우리 법에는 생명보험신탁에 관한 명시적 법규가 존재하지 않기 때문에, 생명보험신탁이 허용되는지, 어떠한 법적 형식을 취하여야 하는지가 명백하지 않은 상황이다. 본 논문은 이러한 문제의식 하에 생명보험신탁이 우리법상 허용되는지에 대해 해석론을 전개하고, 더 나아가 법 개정이 필요하다고 판단되는 부분에 대해서는 입법론도 개진하였다. 주요 쟁점은, 첫째, 보험금청구권이 신탁재산으로 될 수 있는지 여부, 둘째, 수탁자가 보험계약자로서 보험계약을 체결할 때 그 상대방인 보험자가 수탁자와 동일인인 경우에는, 수탁자의 자기거래 현상이 발생할 수 있는데, 위탁자나 신탁수익자의 동의가 있는 경우 자기거래가 허용될 수 있는지 여부, 셋째, 수탁자를 보험수익자로 정하는 경우에는 신탁선언의 문제가 생길 소지가 있는데 그것이 허용될 수 있는지 여부 등이다. 생명보험신탁의 활성화는 금융소비자 및 금융사업자 모두에게 이익을 줄 수 있을 것이므로, 현행법 하에서 가능하면 허용될 수 있도록 해석할 필요가 있고, 또한 그렇지 않은 부분에 대해서는 법령 개정을 할 필요가 있다고 본다.

다국어 초록 (Multilingual Abstract)

There has been a great increase in the use of life insurance trust since 1930. As Korean life insurance companies have been recently authorized to carry on trust business as well as insurance business, they became to be interested in producing and selling life insurance trusts. However, it is not clear whether or not such products are permitted under the current Korean law. This article tries to interpret whether they are allowed under the current law, and to suggest legislative reform for solving possible legal problems. The legal issues dealt with by this article are classified as follows. First, the question arises whether or not the trust of a right to insurance claim is legally possible under the Financial Investment Services and Capital Markets Act(FSCMA), which restricts trust properties to limited properties such as pecuniary claims. The answer should be affirmative, as far as the object o·f insurance claim is cash, in that the right to such an insurance claim can be categorized into pecuniary claim. It is suggested that the FSCMA be changed to include all kinds of properties as trust properties, on the basis that the restriction of trust properties has lost its ground nowadays. Secondly, when the trustee insures settlor`s life as a policyholder and an insurer, this act of insuring may amount to the self-dealing which is in principle prohibited so as to prevent the conflict of interests under the FSCMA. The current law is interpreted to bar such a self-dealing even though the settlor or the beneficiary of the trust consents to it, but it may be argued that this regulation is too excessive. Therefore, it is suggested that the law be reformed to allow such a self-dealing when the settlor or the beneficiary of the trust gives explicit permission to it after having been sufficiently notified about its contents. Thirdly, it is questionable whether the declaration of trust applies to a trust where the beneficiary of the life insurance becomes the trustee. The answer may be negative in the life insurance trust, but it seems safe to determine whether the declaration of trust is legal. The dominant opinion negates the validity of the declaration of trust under the current Korean law. It is suggested that the law need to be changed to allow it, on the ground that there is no sound basis justifying such a strict regulation.