South Korea again ordered to pay Elliott $48.49 million — Korea Herald
An arbitral tribunal has again ordered the South Korean government to pay U.S. hedge fund Elliott Investment Management $48.49 million in compensation in a dispute over government interference in the 2015 merger of Samsung C&T and Cheil Industries. The amount of compensation remained the same as in the previous ruling, but interest and costs will also be added, Korea Herald reports.
Amount with interest and costs
According to Elliott's estimate, the total amount of payments, including interest and legal costs, is approximately $113 million, or 153.7 billion won. The fund said that this amount also includes additional costs related to South Korea's challenge of the original arbitral award.
The tribunal, which reconsidered the case with the same panel of three arbitrators, again established a causal link between government interference in the merger of Samsung C&T and Cheil Industries and Elliott's losses. According to the fund, the arbitrators concluded that the National Pension Service would have voted against the merger without unlawful government interference. According to Elliott, this conclusion establishes liability regardless of whether the pension service is considered a state entity.
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Previous proceedings in the United Kingdom
The dispute began in 2018, when Elliott, as a shareholder of Samsung C&T, filed an investment claim against South Korea under the Korea-U.S. Free Trade Agreement. In June 2023, the arbitral tribunal found the government liable. A month later, Seoul sought to set aside the award in a UK court, as the United Kingdom was the seat of arbitration.
In February, a UK court set aside the part of the award that recognized the National Pension Service as a state entity. At the same time, the court concluded that the actions of the presidential administration and the Ministry of Health and Welfare concerning the pension fund's decision could be considered under the agreement. The case was referred back to arbitration to assess whether these actions caused losses to Elliott; neither party appealed this ruling. South Korea's Ministry of Justice said it is analyzing the new decision with other agencies, government representatives and external experts.
