Korea to pay Elliott $48.49 million plus interest over Samsung merger dispute

The Korean government has conceded in an investor-state dispute settlement (ISDS) case with the U.S. private equity firm Elliott Management over the 2015 merger of two Samsung affiliates.

The government has decided not to seek to overturn an arbitration ruling issued on Sept. 30 in the rehearing of the ISDS case brought by Elliott over the government's involvement in the merger of Samsung C&T and Cheil Industries, according to the Ministry of Justice on Wednesday.

The decision leaves the government liable for approximately $48.49 million in damages, plus interest and other costs.

Elliott initiated ISDS proceedings against Seoul in 2018 under the Korea-U.S. FTA. The private equity firm, a Samsung C&T shareholder at the time, claimed it suffered losses after the presidential office and the Ministry of Health and Welfare improperly pressured the National Pension Service (NPS) to vote in favor of the 2015 merger between Samsung C&T and Cheil Industries.

In June 2023, an arbitration tribunal administered by the Permanent Court of Arbitration accepted Elliott's claims and found the Korean government liable for approximately $48.49 million in damages, plus interest. The government subsequently filed a lawsuit in July of that year seeking to overturn the ruling in a British court, as the arbitration was seated in London.

A British court dismissed the government's suit in August 2024, but the British Court of Appeal upheld the government's appeal in July 2025 and remanded the case to the lower court.

In February this year, the lower court accepted the government's argument that the NPS could not be considered a state agency and partially overturned the original ruling. The court then referred the case back to the arbitration tribunal.

Neither the Korean government nor Elliott appealed the decision, and the original arbitration tribunal reheard the case. However, the tribunal again ruled against the government, finding a causal link between the government's intervention and the losses suffered by Elliott.

Just over seven months after securing a partial victory in its lawsuit, the government once again faces the same amount of compensation as in the original arbitration ruling.

BY JANG GU-SEUL [[email protected]]