Ministry of Justice Releases Full 411-Page English Text of Lone Star ISDS Ruling

Minister of Justice Han Dong-hoon is seated as a petitioner at the public hearing held on the afternoon of the 27th in the Grand Bench of the Constitutional Court in Jongno-gu, Seoul, to determine the constitutionality of the 'Prosecution Reform' bill. Photo by Kim Hyun-min kimhyun81@

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Daehyun] The full text of the arbitration award in the international investment dispute settlement (ISDS·Investor-State Dispute Settlement) case between our government and the foreign private equity fund Lone Star has been disclosed.

On the 28th, the Ministry of Justice announced, "To guarantee the public's right to know and enhance the transparency of the arbitration process, we are disclosing the original text of the award as is, excluding only the minimum content that cannot be legally disclosed."

The award in English spans 411 pages of A4 paper. After the arbitration tribunal's decision, the government obtained Lone Star's consent and disclosed the full text on this day.

The arbitration tribunal evaluated Lone Star's stock manipulation case as going beyond the so-called "Eat and Run" to "Cheat and Run." It also acknowledged the fault of our financial authorities for delaying the approval review of the sale of Korea Exchange Bank to avoid criticism from politicians and public opinion at the time. It stated that both parties should share responsibility equally.

Previously, in November 2012, Lone Star filed international arbitration with the International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID) of the World Bank, claiming that our government unfairly intervened in the sale process of Korea Exchange Bank, causing damages of $4.6795 billion (approximately 6.1 trillion KRW). The arbitration tribunal that heard the case ruled on the 31st of last month that the government must pay $216.5 million (approximately 280 billion KRW, based on an exchange rate of 1,300 KRW/USD).

A Ministry of Justice official stated, "To guarantee the public's right to know, we will promptly inform about subsequent procedures such as cancellation and stay of enforcement applications."

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