Government Secures Final Victory in 325 Billion Won Schindler ISDS Case

Schindler Misses Appeal Deadline at Paris Court of Appeal
Entire Damages Claim Dismissed; Government Recovers 9.6 Billion Won in Legal Costs

The government has achieved a complete and final victory in an international investment dispute (ISDS) against the Swiss elevator company Schindler, regarding a claim worth approximately 325 billion won.

The Ministry of Justice building located in Gwacheon, Gyeonggi Province. Provided by the Ministry of Justice

On September 28, the Ministry of Justice announced to the press, “It has been confirmed that Schindler did not file a motion to set aside the arbitral award with the Paris Court of Appeal within the statutory period,” adding that the decision is now definitive. As a result, last March’s arbitral award—which dismissed Schindler’s claim for damages worth around 325 billion won in full and ordered the return of approximately 9.6 billion won in litigation costs incurred by the government—has been confirmed as final.

Previously, on March 14, a tribunal at the Permanent Court of Arbitration (PCA) fully dismissed Schindler’s claims in an ISDS case the company brought against the Korean government in 2018. Schindler claimed it had suffered damages because the Fair Trade Commission, Financial Services Commission, and Financial Supervisory Service had not sufficiently investigated or reviewed Hyundai Elevator’s capital increase and other matters, initially seeking about 490 billion won and ultimately around 325 billion won in compensation.

At that time, the arbitral tribunal found that the actions taken by Korean financial and fair trade authorities were legitimate enforcement of the law, not arbitrary, discriminatory, or an abuse of power. In April, after the ruling, the government successfully recovered the full amount of litigation costs of approximately 9.6 billion won from Schindler. This marks the largest amount of litigation costs ever recovered by the government in an ISDS case.

The Ministry of Justice stated, “We will continue to respond to international investment disputes in a professional and systematic manner to safeguard the national interest.”

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.