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Photo courtesy of Yonhap News |
[Alpha Biz= Kim Jisun] The result of South Korea’s lawsuit challenging an international investment dispute (ISDS) ruling that ordered the government to pay over KRW 130 billion to US hedge fund Elliott Management is expected as early as next month.
According to legal sources on the 16th, the first-instance court, the UK High Court, concluded oral arguments for the remitted trial of South Korea’s challenge to the Permanent Court of Arbitration (PCA) award earlier this month.
Although the date for the ruling has not yet been set, many anticipate a judgment by next month based on the court schedule.
Previously, in 2023, the PCA ruled that the South Korean government must pay Elliott approximately KRW 138.9 billion (around $107.82 million).
The South Korean government filed the annulment lawsuit in a UK court, arguing that the PCA had no jurisdiction under the US-Korea Free Trade Agreement (FTA) provisions.
In August last year, the first-instance court dismissed the case, saying that the FTA clauses cited by the government did not fall within the jurisdictional scope under UK arbitration law.
However, in July, the Court of Appeal accepted South Korea’s appeal and remitted the case back to the High Court. The court now must decide whether there are valid grounds to annul the PCA arbitration award.
The Elliott case relates to the 2015 merger between Samsung C&T and Cheil Industries during Lee Jae-yong’s succession process. Elliott, a shareholder of Samsung C&T at the time, claimed that the government-affiliated National Pension Service (NPS) voted in favor of the merger despite a merger ratio disadvantageous to Samsung C&T, causing losses to its shareholders.
Alphabiz Reporter Kim Jisun(stockmk2020@alphabiz.co.kr)
