S. Korea ordered to pay nearly US$50 mln to Elliott over Samsung merger case

SEOUL, Oct. 1 (Yonhap) -- South Korea has been ordered to pay nearly US$50 million in compensation to U.S. hedge fund Elliott Investment Management over the 2015 merger of two Samsung affiliates, the justice ministry said Thursday.

An international tribunal ordered the South Korean government Wednesday to pay $48.49 million in damages to Elliott over a dispute stemming from the controversial merger, according to the ministry.

The ministry did not give figures for other costs also ordered by the tribunal, including delayed interest.

The tribunal recognized a causal relationship between Seoul's intervention for the approval of the merger of Samsung C&T Corp. and Cheil Industries Co. and losses to Elliott, it said.

A tribunal administered by the Permanent Court of Arbitration had ordered Seoul to pay the same amount in damages in an earlier decision in 2023, the ministry said.

Following Wednesday's ruling, Elliott welcomed the decision in a release, noting the tribunal granted about $113 million, including damages, interest and other costs.

Elliott filed the case in 2018 seeking compensation of $770 million over losses from the merger, arguing "unfair" mediation by the South Korean government in the process of approving the merger.

The U.S. hedge fund was a minority stakeholder of Samsung C&T Corp.

The case reached the High Court in London, which sided with Seoul and sent the case back for review in February.

This file photo, taken Feb. 24, 2026, shows a justice ministry official speaking during a briefing on the South Korean government's investor-state dispute settlement case with U.S. hedge fund Elliott Investment Management at the government complex in Gwacheon, just south of Seoul. (Yonhap)