S. Korea ordered to pay Mason Capital US$ 32 mil. in investor-state suit

정부, 메이슨에 438억 배상해야 엘리엇 이어 두번째 중재판정 An international tribunal has ordered the South Korean government to pay 32 million U.S. dollars in compensation to Mason Capital, a U.S.-based hedge fund. The move comes amid an investor-state suit the company filed over a controversial 2015 merger of two Samsung affiliates. Lee Seung-jae has more. Six years after the U.S.-based hedge fund Mason Capital filed an investor-state suit against the South Korean government, over a controversial 2015 merger of two Samsung affiliates, the Permanent Court of Arbitration in the Netherlands on Thursday ordered South Korea to pay 32 million U.S. dollars in compensation. However, the ruling, is just a fraction of the 200 million dollars the New York-based fund has demanded. In fact, despite including interest on delayed payments, it represents just 16 percent of what Mason Capital requested. In a 2015 merger of Samsung C&T and Cheil Industries, a ratio of zero-point-three-five Cheil shares was offered for every one Samsung C&T share. The hedge fund held a two-point-one-eight percent share in Samsung C&T at the time, and strongly objected to the merger, arguing that it undervalued Samsung C&T shares. In 2018, Mason filed a lawsuit, saying that the South Korean government had unfairly intervened in favor of the merger. The controversial merger has since been at the center of a huge corruption scandal that led to the imprisonment of Samsung heir Lee Jae-yong, and the eventual ousting and conviction of former President Park Geun-hye. Mason cited the results of the special investigation into corruption in state affairs, saying that it was clear evidence that the Korean government violated procedures to promote the interests of Chairman Lee's family,.. calling it the largest "political corruption scandal" in Korean history. It added that the Park administration exerted excessive influence on the state-run National Pension Service, a major shareholder in Samsung C&T to cast its vote in favor of the merger. However,.. the South Korean government argued that while it's true that the former president accepted a bribe, and was impeached and imprisoned for it, the bribe was received after the merger, adding that the National Pension Service is an independent corporation that's not part of the Korean government. The latest ruling, marks the second time the South Korean government has been ordered to pay compensation over the controversial 2015 merger, as the PCA ordered the government to pay 53-point-5-9 million dollars plus interest to U.S.-based hedge fund Elliott Investment Management in June 2023. Lee Seung-jae, Arirang News. #Mason_Capital #investor_state_suit #Korean_government #international_tribunal #Permanent_Court_of_Arbitration #compensation #메이슨캐피탈 #중재판정 #Arirang_News #아리랑뉴스 ? Facebook : https://www.facebook.com/arirangtvnews ? Twitter : https://twitter.com/arirangtvnews ? Homepage : https://arirang.com/ 2024-04-12, 09:00 (KST)