Shin Chang-jae, Kyobo Chairman, Wins Put Option Case "No Obligation to Pay Interest on Put Purchase"

[Asia Economy Reporter Oh Hyung-gil] Shin Chang-jae, Chairman of Kyobo Life Insurance, won the international arbitration ruling related to the shareholder put option dispute.

According to the insurance industry on the 6th, the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) arbitration tribunal ruled in favor of Chairman Shin in the shareholder dispute between him and the Affinity Consortium (Affinity Equity Partners, IMM PE, Baring PE, Singapore Investment Corporation).

The arbitration tribunal judged that Chairman Shin is not obligated to purchase the put option at the price of 409,000 KRW submitted by the Affinity Consortium, nor to pay interest on it.

The Affinity Consortium claimed that the put exercise price included a management premium on Chairman Shin's shares, but the arbitration tribunal did not accept this.

Furthermore, regarding the Affinity Consortium's claim that Chairman Shin violated the clause in the shareholder agreement to "fulfill the best duty for the Initial Public Offering (IPO)," the tribunal ruled that "since all directors except Lee Sang-hoon opposed the IPO promotion at the board meeting in September 2018, the breach of the shareholder agreement is minimal, and Chairman Shin does not need to compensate the Affinity Consortium."

The tribunal also ruled that Chairman Shin did not violate the confidentiality obligations claimed by the Affinity Consortium.

Meanwhile, criminal trials are ongoing for key executives of the Affinity Consortium and Deloitte Anjin Accounting Corporation accountants who were commissioned to evaluate the value of the put options.

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