이 기사는 2021년 11월 24일 08:25 thebell 에 표출된 기사입니다.

The legal battle between Shin Chang-jae, chairman of Kyobo Life Insurance, and financial investors in the South Korean insurer is heading toward its climax as the investor group continues to put pressure on Shin to promptly conduct the valuation of the company’s shares, while Shin is pushing ahead with preparations to take the company public.

Lawyers for the investors led by Affinity Equity Partners recently submitted additional documents supporting their injunction application to the Seoul Northern District Court, according to industry sources.

The last hearing for the injunction request was held on November 11, with the court giving both sides until the final decision is made to supplement their arguments through written submissions. The court’s final judgment is expected as soon as early December or before the end of this year at the latest.

The investors are arguing for the injunction as an effective remedy for the damage they are suffering based on the International Chamber of Commerce’s September ruling and their preserved right to seek the implementation of remedy.

They pointed out to the court that they need to exit Kyobo Life as promptly as possible to prevent further financial losses, which they argue have caused by Shin refusing to fulfill his obligation to buy the investors’ stakes in the company over the last three years.

The investors told the court that they “are not only bearing massive interest expenses and other costs caused by Shin’s failure to fulfill his obligation, but also at the risk of losing reputation and client trust”.

“Shin has no reason to refuse or postpone the appointment of an appraiser,” the investors argued, asking the court to accept the injunction so as to finalize the exercise price of the put options included in a shareholder agreement between Shin and the investors.

The investors also rebutted an argument by Shin that they illegally conspired with accounting firm Deloitte Anjin to earn excessive gains by mispricing shares subject to the put options. They have estimated that their exit from Kyobo Life would produce a negative return or a return lower than the legal interest rate at best after accounting for financial expenses.

The investors invested a combined 1.2 trillion won in the insurance company in 2012. According to them, the exit at the lower limit of 245,000 won per share would generate a 1.8% internal rate of return. If the exercise price of 409,912 won apiece is applied – as Deloitte Anjin estimated in 2018 – the investors’ internal rate of return would be about 7%.

But these calculations do not include financial expenses, and therefore “it is likely that an actual return will be negative or below the legal interest rate at best,” the investors argued.

Meanwhile, Shin and Kyobo Life earlier this month decided to restart preparations for an initial public offering, about two years after the insurer pulled the IPO. The move has been seen as a gesture by Shin to show his efforts to help the investors exit.

Kyobo Life said it planned to file an IPO application in December, arguing that it needs cooperation from the investors to complete the IPO by the end of the first half of 2022. (Reporting by Ha-na Suh)