[The Chosun Ilbo, February 1 2008] Samsung Ordered to Pay W3 Trillion to Creditors

A Seoul court on Thursday ruled in favor of creditors of the now-defunct Samsung Motors, ordering Samsung Group chairman Lee Kun-hee and 28 Samsung affiliates to repay W3.15 trillion in overdue debt to creditors in the nation’s biggest civil lawsuit ever (US$1=W945). Samsung will have to repay about W2.3 trillion given that creditors have already converted about W800 billion worth of shares in Samsung Life Insurance they had received into cash.

The Seoul Central District Court on Thursday ruled in favor of the creditors -- 14 financial institutions including Seoul Guarantee Insurance Company. The court ruled an agreement Samsung signed with its creditors to repay the debt in listed shares is valid, rejecting claims by the conglomerate that it entered the agreement under duress