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In 2003, Lone Star, a foreign private equity fund, acquired KEB.

However, suspicions were raised that Lone Star, who was not qualified to take over, bought it at a low price, and the prosecution investigation continued.

In the midst of this, Lone Star made more than 4 trillion won in profits by reselling Korea Exchange Bank to Hana Financial Group in 2012, and even then, Lone Star started an international dispute procedure in the same year.

The Korean government is demanding to pay more than 6 trillion won in damages because it interfered with the sale.



Reporter Hong Young-jae reports.



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In 2012, Lone Star applied for arbitration to the World Bank International Investment Dispute Resolution Center, which arbitrates disputes between countries and investors.



In the process of selling KEB, Lone Star claimed that it suffered losses due to the Korean government's unreasonable intervention and argued that the Korean government should compensate US$4.68 billion, or about 6 trillion won at the recent exchange rate.



The first hearing was held in Washington, USA in 2015,



[Chul-su Kim/Chief of International Law Department (government delegation) at the time of the Ministry of Justice: I have prepared a lot in cooperation with the government agency law firm to do well today even in terms of suppressing the baseline, and I have been preparing well today. I would like to.]



The arbitration process continued for nearly 10 years after three additional hearings and replacement of the chairperson.



There are three main issues in this arbitral award, which are expected to be available between tonight and tomorrow morning.



First, whether the Korean government unreasonably delayed the sale of KEB by Lone Star. Second, whether it intentionally lowered the purchase price of KEB by applying pressure. Third, whether the taxation on Lone Star was justified.



At the National Assembly yesterday, Justice Minister Han Dong-hoon said that there is no possibility of a total loss, but if the government is responsible for delaying the sale, and unfavorable results are found in key issues such as the recognition of the government's responsibility for the delay, a huge amount of money is expected to be paid in public taxes.



It is also expected that the theory of responsibility for the financial authorities at the time who approved Lone Star's takeover of KEB and the sale process will be raised.



[Jeon Seong-in/Professor of Economics, Hongik University: Korea's financial supervision We have no choice but to come back to the very fundamental question of whether it is okay as it is.

Problems such as credibility and legality may arise.] There is a



possibility that it may adversely affect other ongoing litigation between investors and countries, such as the lawsuit with Elliott, an American hedge fund related to the Samsung C&T merger.



(Video coverage: Kim Tae-hoon·Hyung Yoon, video editing: Lee Seung-hee, CG: Hong Seong-yong)