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Photo = Yonhap news |
[Alpha Biz= Kim Jisun] The Korean government has won an appeal in a legal battle against U.S. hedge fund Elliott Management over a $100 million (approximately KRW 130 billion) arbitration ruling.
On July 17 (local time), the UK Court of Appeal ruled in favor of the Korean government and remanded the case back to the High Court. The ruling reopens the possibility of overturning the earlier decision by the Permanent Court of Arbitration (PCA), which had ordered Korea to compensate Elliott.
The case stems from the controversial 2015 merger between Samsung C&T and Cheil Industries, which played a key role in the succession plan of Samsung Electronics Chairman Lee Jae-yong. Elliott, a shareholder of Samsung C&T at the time, argued that the merger ratio was unfairly unfavorable to Samsung C&T shareholders. The Korean National Pension Service (NPS), a major shareholder, voted in favor of the merger, allegedly causing financial harm to minority investors.
The core issue in the appeal was whether the PCA had jurisdiction over the dispute. With the UK High Court now required to re-examine this jurisdictional question, the original compensation ruling may be reversed.
The Korean government had challenged the PCA’s authority to arbitrate the matter, and the latest ruling is seen as a significant procedural victory in its efforts to overturn the arbitration award.
AlphaBIZ Kim Jisun(stockmk2020@alphabiz.co.kr)
