Those who are sentenced to monetary fines for violating laws on taxation, fair trade and other financial regulations can be restricted in exercising their voting rights for up to five years.

The list of people to be screened feature big names, including Lee Kun-hee, the hospitalized head of the country's biggest conglomerate Samsung Group, as well as his heir-apparent son Lee Jae-yong, SK Group chief Chey Tae-won and Hyundai Motor's head Chung Mong-koo.

The FSS is due to begin the screening process this month and announce the results sometime in May. The test will be held every two years.

The junior Lee and the CEOs of SK and Hyundai Motor Groups are all implicated in the saga of corruption surrounding President Park Geun-hye and her close friend Choi Soon-sil, who are being investigated on suspicions of bribery, extortion and influence peddling, among others. The conglomerates are alleged to have donated to sports and culture foundations controlled by Choi in exchange for various business favors arranged by the presidential office. 

Officials say that despite the magnitude of the scandal, the CEOs this time will cruise through the screening because their conduct that will be scrutinized took place after August last year when the related law went into effect, and because guilty court verdicts must precede punitive actions by the FSS. Much of the scandal-related conduct by the conglomerates dates back to before the law's enactment.

The officials, however, say the next screening two years later may have different results should their suspected wrongdoings reach the courts and be judged to be crimes. This is why Lee Jae-yong's case is being closely watched.

Lee, currently vice chief of Samsung Electronics, is accused of giving bribes, embezzling and lying under oath. If he is found guilty of any one of such allegations, the stakes of a life insurance affiliate he inherited from his father may cause him to flunk the FSS test.

Critics say the current screening has too many loopholes. For instance, some of the major corporate crimes are not in the screening category. Neglection of duty and other misdeeds subject to what is known as additional punishment for specific economic crimes are visibly absent from the test list.

"If the screening system is aimed at flushing out unsuited shareholders who could damage the soundness of financial companies, then the law must be revised to include violations of the specific economic crimes," Kim Sang-jo of Hansung University said. (Yonhap)