DSME’s Investors Pile Up Lawsuits

Three more institutional investors have filed lawsuits against the South Korean shipbuilder Daewoo Shipbuilding and Marine Engineering (DSME) over the KRW 5.4 trillion (USD 4.6 bilion) accounting fraud, The Korea Herald reports.

Government Employees Pension Service and Teachers’ Pension filed the lawsuit against the company for compensation of some KRW 22 billion (USD 19 million).

In addition, Korea Post sought KRW 400 million in compensation.

In a week, DSME faced lawsuits of over KRW 70 billion, according to The Korea Herald.

The National Pension Service (NPS) sought KRW 48.9 billion in a compensation lawsuit last week. NPS held 9.12 percent of the shipbuilder in 2013, reducing the stake to 0.16 percent by August last year.

Separately, more than 400 stakeholders have sought the compensation, amounting to about KRW 25 billion.

The accounting fraud worth KRW 5.4 trillion was unveiled in June, revealing that the company’s management undertook business projects without legitimate procedures.

Last week, DSME’s former Chief Financial Officer was charged with taking part in the company’s accounting fraud during 2013 and 2014.

World Maritime News Staff