Former SK officials cleared in KEB case
Source: Agencies |
December 30, 2009, Wednesday
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Print Edition
Print Edition
AN appeals court yesterday cleared two former South Korean officials of charges they helped private equity firm Lone Star buy a shaky local bank on the cheap in 2003, clearing the way for the buyout group to sell the lender.
The court's decision upheld a ruling last year from the Seoul Central District Court that cleared former finance ministry official Byeon Yang-ho and former Korea Exchange Bank chief Lee Kang-won of breach of trust charges. It was alleged they conspired to understate KEB's value.
Dallas, Texas-based Lone Star Funds has long battled allegations that it was able to acquire the bank, which was financially distressed at the time, at a bargain price. The fund took over Korea Exchange Bank, the country's fifth-largest lender, in late 2003 by purchasing a 51 percent stake for about 1.4 trillion won (US$1.2 billion).
"If a government official made what he believed to be an appropriate policy decision to rescue an ailing financial institution and enforced it after obtaining internal approval, it is a matter of policy selection and judgment, not a question of breach of trust," the Seoul High Court said yesterday in its verdict, according to the Yonhap news agency.
The court's decision upheld a ruling last year from the Seoul Central District Court that cleared former finance ministry official Byeon Yang-ho and former Korea Exchange Bank chief Lee Kang-won of breach of trust charges. It was alleged they conspired to understate KEB's value.
Dallas, Texas-based Lone Star Funds has long battled allegations that it was able to acquire the bank, which was financially distressed at the time, at a bargain price. The fund took over Korea Exchange Bank, the country's fifth-largest lender, in late 2003 by purchasing a 51 percent stake for about 1.4 trillion won (US$1.2 billion).
"If a government official made what he believed to be an appropriate policy decision to rescue an ailing financial institution and enforced it after obtaining internal approval, it is a matter of policy selection and judgment, not a question of breach of trust," the Seoul High Court said yesterday in its verdict, according to the Yonhap news agency.
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