Korea's Ministry of Justice said on Oct. 28 that it will not challenge the Sept. 30 remand arbitration award in the Elliott investor-state case. With no annulment suit going to the UK courts, liability of about 153 billion won, interest included, is final, and the dispute that began in July 2018 is over after eight years and three months.
Why the ministry stopped fighting
The ministry said it weighed its analysis of the award, the views of related ministries, the government's law firm and outside experts, and the extra litigation costs. It spent about a month reviewing the loss.
How the money will be paid, and the exact amount, is still under discussion.
153 billion won is principal plus interest
The principal is about US$48.49 million. Interest and other items bring the total to about 153 billion won. The reports give no interest rate and no breakdown of litigation-cost offsets.
It began with the 2015 Samsung merger
Elliott claimed that when Samsung C&T and Cheil Industries merged in 2015, the government improperly interfered in the National Pension Service's vote and cost it money. It filed the ISDS claim under the Korea-US FTA in July 2018, and the tribunal found the government liable in June 2023.
A month later Seoul asked the UK court to annul the award, arguing that the pension fund's vote was not a government measure under the FTA.
In February, Seoul looked like it was winning
After a dismissal in Aug. 2024 and a remand by the Court of Appeal in July 2025, the first-instance court in February accepted that the pension service cannot be treated as a state organ and partly annulled the award. It sent the causation question back to the tribunal.
On Sept. 30 the remand tribunal again found a causal link and set liability at about 153 billion won.
