Law Firm Cheongchul (Lead Attorneys: Lee Young-kyung, Eom Sang-yun Chief Attorney) represented a client, a subsidiary of one of the top 10 large corporations operating a department store in Korea, opposing the stock exchange and arguing for the validity of the stock purchase price requested by shareholders who exercised their right to demand a purchase of shares. The firm successfully argued the reasonableness of the price determined by the company and received a decision from the Supreme Court dismissing all claims from the opposing party.
During the client's stock exchange process, the opposing shareholders notified the client of their intention to oppose the resolution regarding the stock exchange in accordance with Article 165-5(1) of the Capital Markets Act. Consequently, the company determined the purchase price based on the regulations of the Capital Markets Act, but the opposing shareholders opposed this as well and requested the court to determine the purchase price.
Cheongchul argued in relation to this case,
that the stock exchange in question was conducted according to lawful requirements,
that the purchase price of the shares in this case was determined in accordance with the regulations of the Capital Markets Act (Article 165-5(1) of the Capital Markets Act and Article 176-7 of the Enforcement Decree), and that it complies with established Supreme Court precedents,
and, based on an analysis of the facts regarding the claims of the opposing shareholders, claimed that they could not be accepted, and the Supreme Court accepted Cheongchul's opinion as is.
The Supreme Court ruled that the determination of the purchase price of shares of a listed corporation should be based on ① generally the market price, and could not simply reject it merely because it somewhat differs from the net asset value and ② only in extreme exceptional cases where the market price is influenced by unfair means such as price manipulation, can the market price be excluded, or may other factors be considered alongside the market price to determine the purchase price, thereby confirming the legal principles regarding the determination of the standard price in this case once again.
This decision from the Supreme Court concluded a dispute that lasted over 3 years, and thus established the significant meaning that this dispute would not cause any contingent liabilities or impact business decisions for the client.
Lawyers at Law Firm Cheongchul are composed of lawyers from Kim & Chang Law Office, Law Firm (Limited) Taepyeongyang, Gwangjang, and Sejong, and formed a team for this case to actively argue and reach a conclusion that satisfied the client.
Law Firm Cheongchul promises to be your legal team that will continue to do our best for the benefit of the client.
