Rhyme Asset Management Sues Star Mobility to "Return Investment Funds"

[Asia Economy Reporter Kum Bo-ryeong] Lime Asset Management has filed a lawsuit against Star Mobility demanding the return of investment funds amounting to 19.5 billion KRW.

According to the legal and financial investment sectors on the 17th, Korea Securities Finance, the custodian of Lime Asset Management's fund assets, recently filed a lawsuit at the Seoul Southern District Court against Star Mobility, claiming the return of 19.5 billion KRW for convertible bonds (CB) subscription payments.

Korea Securities Finance explained, "The lawsuit demanding principal and interest against Star Mobility was filed under the direction of Lime Asset Management." Although Korea Securities Finance is formally listed as the plaintiff, the lawsuit is essentially initiated by Lime Asset Management.

Star Mobility is a company owned by Chairman Kim Bong-hyun, who is known as the 'backer' of Lime Asset Management. Among the charges Kim faces from investigative authorities is the embezzlement of 51.7 billion KRW of Star Mobility funds.

The amount Lime Asset Management invested in Star Mobility is approximately 60 billion KRW. The current lawsuit demands the return of 19.5 billion KRW invested in the 11th tranche of CBs in January. At that time, Lime Asset Management was under investigation by financial authorities and had suspended redemptions after it was revealed that the fund was being mismanaged.

Notably, despite Star Mobility already facing financial difficulties after receiving about 40 billion KRW in investments, Lime Asset Management stirred controversy by investing an additional 19.5 billion KRW to evade financial regulatory oversight. It is reported that Lime invested the 19.5 billion KRW on the condition of recovering 20 billion KRW from Star Mobility out of the previously invested 40 billion KRW.

This lawsuit is interpreted as Lime Asset Management’s legal response to recover at least part of the funds as it faces the risk of losing the entire investment amounting to approximately 60 billion KRW.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.