Yi Whan-woo is a Korea Times journalist primarily covering finance. He writes in-depth articles on macroeconomy and financial markets and previously covered sports, politics, diplomacy and inter-Korean affairs, among others. Feel free to contact him at yistory@koreatimes.co.kr.
Mirae Asset recovers $192.97 mil. from Brookfield as yearslong IFC dispute ends
The International Finance Center (IFC) in Seoul’s financial district of Yeouido, which Mirae Asset Global Investments had sought to purchase from the Canadian investment firm Brookfield, is shown in this undated photo. Yonhap
By Yi Whan-woo
Mirae Asset Global Investments has recovered the full amount it claimed from Brookfield, a Canadian multinational investment firm, ending a yearslong dispute over a failed property deal in Seoul’s financial district of Yeouido, industry officials said Monday.
They said Brookfield returned 283 billion won ($192.97 million) last week, as ordered by the Singapore International Arbitration Centre's (SIAC) ruling in October, despite initially refusing to pay.
The sum includes a 200 billion won performance deposit, accumulated interest and arbitration-related costs linked to the collapsed acquisition of the International Finance Center (IFC) in Yeouido.
The conflict began in 2021 when Mirae Asset Global Investments agreed to acquire the building from Brookfield and was then selected as the preferred bidder for the IFC, paying the 200 billion won performance deposit.
However, the deal fell through after the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport rejected Mirae Asset Global Investments’ plan to finance part of the acquisition through a real estate investment trust (REIT).
Following the collapse, Mirae Asset Global Investments requested the return of the performance deposit, but Brookfield refused, arguing that the Korean firm had not made sufficient efforts to secure government approval for the REIT.
With negotiations stalled, Mirae Asset Global Investments initiated international arbitration at SIAC in 2022.
After nearly three years of proceedings, SIAC ruled in favor of Mirae Asset Global Investments in October.
Even after the arbitration ruling, Brookfield initially resisted returning the funds.
Mirae Asset Global Investments then requested provisional attachment of the special-purpose companies that hold the IFC in both Singapore and Seoul, and both courts approved the requests.
Provisional attachment temporarily freezes assets, preventing their sale, disposal or collection of income generated from them.
“The court actions apparently put significant pressure on Brookfield,” an industry official said, noting that the IFC stake could not be sold or restructured and that loans secured by the property, totaling around 2.6 trillion won, could trigger an event of default.