Ill-fated relationship between key officials and Lone Star draws focus
From left are Prime Minister Han Duck-soo, Finance Minister Choo Kyung-ho and Bank of Korea Governor Rhee Chang-yong. Yonhap
By Lee Min-hyung
High-ranking political and financial officials mired in a decades-long suit between the Korean government and Lone Star are in the hot seat after Korea has been ordered to pay the U.S. private equity firm $216.5 million (289.76 billion won).
After the ruling from the International Centre for Settlement of Investment Dispute, Wednesday, public ire is escalating concerning some of the high-level figures amid growing calls that they are at least in part responsible for the latest verdict.
The officials include: Prime Minister Han Duck-soo, Finance Minister Choo Kyung-ho and Bank of Korea Governor Rhee Chang-yong ― all of whom were directly or indirectly engaged in the lawsuit.
Prime Minister Han served as a former advisor to the nation's top law firm, Kim & Chang, which represented Lone Star in 2003 when the U.S. firm acquired a controlling stake in the former Korea Exchange Bank. Han is facing criticism that he allegedly exerted his influence on behalf of the U.S. private equity firm.
But he has repeatedly denied the criticism, saying that he was not aware of the highly-controversial deal while working as an advisor.
“I have never been involved in the Lone Star case,” he told reporters, Wednesday. “I made some remarks on the issue at the National Assembly while working as former vice finance minister (2005), but I can say for sure that I have not taken any part in the issue personally.”
Choo also came under fire after the latest ruling from the U.S. authority. He was a director-level bureaucrat in the ministry's bank policy division during the same year when Lone Star took over the exchange bank.
Choo also served as the vice chairman of the Financial Services Commission (FSC) in 2012, when the U.S. company sold the bank to Hana Financial Group with a gain of more than 3 trillion won. Current FSC Chairman Kim Joo-hyun was also handling key issues at the financial regulator at that time.
The chief of the central bank is also suspected of not taking any appropriate measures in 2008 even after discovering in documents that Lone Star was disqualified for the controversial takeover. Rhee was working as vice chief at the FSC back then.