Peter & Kim Secures a Landmark Victory for the Republic of Korea in ICSID Annulment Proceedings

On 18 November 2025, Peter & Kim, working alongside Arnold & Porter and Bae, Kim & Lee, successfully represented the Republic of Korea in securing the annulment of the arbitral award in the long-running dispute against Lone Star Funds

The International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID) annulment committee has set aside the ICSID tribunal’s finding of liability and the order for Korea to pay USD 216 million plus interest in damages. Peter & Kim successfully argued that the ICSID tribunal departed from a fundamental rule of procedure by relying on evidence from a separate commercial arbitration to which Korea was not a party. The annulment committee accepted the Republic of Korea’s position that this reliance deprived the government of its due process rights and constituted a manifest excess of power.

In addition to this victory, Peter & Kim secured the dismissal of Lone Star Fund’s parallel application to annul the ICSID tribunal’s rejection of the majority of its USD 4.7 billion claims. South Korea was also awarded its legal fees and costs in the amount of USD 5 million.

The team representing the Republic of Korea included partners Kap-You (Kevin) Kim, John Bang, and Ara Cho, and Associates Sungryul Park and Jungwook Yoo.