Gov't ordered to pay $53 million partial settlement to Elliott

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Gov't ordered to pay $53 million partial settlement to Elliott

Published: 20 Jun. 2023, 22:01 Updated: 20 Jun. 2023, 23:01

A file photo of Elliott Management's logo [YONHAP]

An international tribunal ruled Tuesday that the Korean government pay 69 billion won ($53 million) to Elliott, partially accepting the U.S. activist fund's $770-million damage claim against the government for approving a merger deal.

The Permanent Court of Arbitration ruled on the investor–state dispute settlement that began in 2018.

The dispute centers around the controversial merger of Samsung C&T and Cheil Industries in 2015, a deal that Elliott, once a shareholder of Samsung C&T with a 7.12 percent stake, says led it to incur substantial losses.

The fund tried in vain to block the deal between Samsung companies and initiated a legal dispute in 2018 by filing its settlement against Korea’s Justice Ministry.

The New York hedge fund accused the former Park Geun-hye administration of pressuring the National Pension Service (NPS), the largest Samsung C&T shareholder at the time, to vote in favor of the merger. Elliott claimed that the merger undervalued Samsung C&T’s stock value and called it a scheme to strengthen then-Samsung heir Lee Jae-yong’s influence over affiliates.

The Justice Ministry said Tuesday that it did its best to defend the case, and vowed to continue its efforts to protect national interests.

BY PARK EUN-JEE [[email protected]]