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Gov't asks Lone Star to reimburse $5M in legal costs from dispute settlement

Published: 25 Nov. 2025, 20:31

Minister of Justice Jung Sung-ho speaks at a press briefing at the Seoul Government Complex in central Seoul on Nov. 18. [YONHAP]

The government has requested that Lone Star Funds reimburse 7.4 billion won ($5 million) in legal costs incurred during the annulment proceedings of a high-profile investment dispute.

"The government sent a formal letter to Lone Star seeking voluntary payment of the legal expenses by Dec. 18," said Jeong Hong-sik, head of the Ministry of Justice’s international legal affairs bureau and lead official on the case, in a press briefing held Tuesday in Gwacheon, Gyeonggi.

The expenses include roughly 7.3 billion won incurred during the annulment process and an additional 80 million won — acknowledged by the arbitral committee in a May 2023 rectification decision — as part of Korea’s legal costs and interest, according to the ministry.

On Nov. 18, the government won its case to annul an investor-state dispute settlement case filed in 2012 by Lone Star through the International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes. The U.S.-based private equity firm had sought $4.68 billion in damages.

In its ruling, the annulment committee ordered Lone Star to bear the 7.3 billion won in legal costs, in line with the principle that the losing party pays.

The Ministry of Justice also confirmed that Lone Star voluntarily withdrew a separate lawsuit it had filed with a U.S. federal court in June 2023.

“We will do our utmost to recover the litigation expenses promptly and defend the national interest,” the ministry said.

This article was originally written in Korean and translated by a bilingual reporter with the help of generative AI tools. It was then edited by a native English-speaking editor. All AI-assisted translations are reviewed and refined by our newsroom.
BY SHIN HYE-YEON [[email protected]]