Schindler Investment Dispute Victory... President Lee: "325 Billion Won Claim Dismissed, Taxpayer Money Protected"

President Lee Jaemyung stated on March 14 that the government had successfully defended against the investor-state dispute settlement (ISDS) case filed by Schindler against the Republic of Korea, saying, "A compensation claim worth 325 billion won was dismissed, thereby protecting the valuable taxpayer money of our citizens."

On this day, President Lee expressed his gratitude on his X account (formerly Twitter), saying, "I deeply thank the officials at the Ministry of Justice who responsibly saw this difficult litigation through to the end," and pledged, "We will continue to do our utmost to safeguard the property of the nation and its citizens and to protect the national interest."

President Lee Jae-myung is speaking at the 'Listening to the Heart of Chungbuk' town hall meeting held at Osco, Cheongju, Chungbuk on the 13th. Photo by Yonhap News

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According to the Ministry of Justice, the arbitral tribunal of the Permanent Court of Arbitration (PCA) dismissed all claims brought by Schindler against the Korean government at approximately 2:03 a.m. Korean time.

Schindler Holding AG is an elevator company headquartered in Switzerland. Schindler initiated the ISDS case in 2018, claiming that it suffered damages because the government failed to adequately investigate and supervise during the capital increase process of Hyundai Elevator between 2013 and 2015.

However, the arbitral tribunal concluded that the actions taken by the Korean government at the time were sufficiently carried out within the scope of its lawful authority. As a result, it was determined that there was no violation of the investment treaty by the Korean government, nor did any state liability arise under international law.

With this ruling, Schindler's claim for approximately 320 billion won in damages during the arbitration process was dismissed. In addition, the Korean government will be reimbursed approximately 9.6 billion won in litigation costs by Schindler.

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