South Korea's Justice Ministry will accept a $114 million arbitration award for Elliott Investment Management, ending the government's challenge to damages tied to Samsung's 2015 affiliate merger.
The Justice Ministry said Wednesday it would let the Sept. 30 ruling stand rather than bring a cancellation suit. The award requires South Korea to pay Elliott about 153 billion won ($114 million), plus interest.
Elliott held a minority stake in Samsung C&T Corp. when it merged with Cheil Industries Co. in 2015. The investment firm initiated arbitration in 2018, seeking damages for losses it attributed to the transaction. Elliott argued that the government unfairly mediated the merger’s approval process.
The Korea Herald reported that a tribunal ruled for Elliott in 2023 before South Korea challenged the result in London’s High Court. The case returned to the tribunal for review in March. In its Sept. 30 decision, the tribunal linked Seoul’s intervention to approve the merger with Elliott’s losses.
The ruling places the payment obligation on South Korea, while Elliott is the award’s beneficiary.
