April 25, 2024

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[THE INVESTOR] The National Pension Service of Korea is expected to seek redress from the losses it suffered by investing in corporate bonds of debt-saddled shipbuilder Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering, regardless of its decision on the shipbuilder’s rescue plan.

“We are likely to file a damage suit against DSME to get compensation for losses from buying its corporate bonds,” a source from NPS was quoted as saying by Yonhap News Agency on April 5. 

According to the source, NPS has yet to decide on whether to accept the debt restructuring plan, mainly orchestrated by the state-led Korea Development Bank, DSME’s largest shareholder. NPS will discuss the agenda in a meeting slated for April 7.

NPS, one of the creditors of the financially pinched shipbuilder and Korea’s largest institutional investor, was asked to accept debt-equity swap on 50 percent of its DSME corporate bonds, worth 194.4 billion won ($172.8 million).

NPS’ damage from bond investing is estimated to be 268.2 billion won, including the bonds it would relinquish by placing them under the debt-equity swap deal.

The pension fund manager bought 388.7 billion won worth of DSME bonds from 2012 to 2015.

DSME was found to have falsified business records between 2008 and 2016. Deloitte Anjin, the company’s outside accounting firm between 2000 and 2015, was confirmed to be banned from opening new accounts for one year, starting on April 5, for keeping silent about the window dressing during the period.

NPS reportedly sees its losses as damages from manipulated information.

Earlier in July 2016, NPS separately claimed damages worth 48.9 billion won against DSME and Deloitte Anjin executives from investing in shares. The litigation is ongoing.

By Son Ji-hyoung/The Korea Herald (consnow@heraldcorp.com)