South Korean Court News

A South Korean court on Saturday issued arrest warrants for a former defense minister and a former coast guard chief over their alleged mishandling of the death of a state fishery ministry employee at the hands of North Korean troops two years ago.The decision by the Seoul Central District Court, which cited risks of them fleeing or destroying evidence, came days after the prosecutors on Tuesday filed for arrest warrants and follows an investigation by the government that showed…

Japan launched a second complaint at the World Trade Organization on Monday over support South Korea gives its shipbuilding industry, intensifying a wider dispute between the two Asian countries.Japan said in its filing that it had complained to South Korea on Jan. 31 over measures related to the development, production, marketing and sales of commercial vessels. Japan circulated it to other WTO members on Monday.Washington's two biggest Asian allies are embroiled in a widening…

A South Korean court declared Hanjin Shipping Co Ltd bankrupt on Friday, after ruling earlier this month that the firm's liquidation value would be worth more than its value as a going concern. Hanjin Shipping, which had been the world's seventh-largest container shipper, applied for court receivership in late August after its creditor banks halted further support. The Seoul Central District Court said in a statement it has chosen a bankruptcy administrator, and claims by creditors are due by May 1, 2017. The first meeting of creditors will be held on June 1, 2017. "The court will, through the bankruptcy process, make efforts so the maximum of debt repayment will be conducted in a way that is fair and balanced to the creditors," it said. The court on Feb.

Korea Development Bank, the main creditor of the dissolved Hanjin Shipping Co. and state-owned entity, has put 10 Hanjin vessels up for sale in order to source back elements of its extended loans, reports Yonhap. According to the sources, potential buyers are required to submit their bids for the ships — two container ships and eight bulk carriers — by Feb. 21. Previously a South Korean court agreed to formally end Hanjin Shipping Co Ltd’s court receivership process after a two week appeal period, ending the business. Therefore any method of rehabilitation for the South Korean shipping company is now over, thus heralding liquidation.

The Seoul Central District Court Thursday decided to end the bankruptcy protection of Hanjin Shipping Co. Ltd (Hanjin Shipping), leaving the company to succumb to a declaration of bankruptcy later this month, Yonhap reported. Hanjin, once the world's seventh- or eighth-largest container shipper, filed for court receivership in late August 2016 as its creditors, led by the state-run Korea Development Bank (KDB), said they would not provide additional financial support to Hanjin starting from September 4. “Now that the sale of Hanjin’s major assets is almost over, the time has come to declare its final fate,” WSJ quoted Choi Ung-young, a judge on the Seoul court as saying. Choi said the shipping line has hardly any value as a going concern and that the court will likely rule on Feb.

A South Korean court said on Thursday it decided to end Hanjin Shipping Co Ltd's court receivership process and expects to declare bankruptcy on February 17 after a two-week period for appeals.   The Seoul Central District Court said in a statement that it made the decision as the firm's liquidation value would be worth more than its value as a going concern.   Hanjin Shipping, which had been the world's seventh-largest container shipper, applied for court receivership in late August after its creditor banks halted further support.   Swiss shipping group MSC said on Wednesday its unit has bought a stake in Hanjin Shipping's U.S. port operator, the latest Hanjin asset to be sold.   Reporting by Joyce Lee

French state holds 33 pct of STX France; acquisition could boost Fincantieri's position in cruise shipbuilding. A South Korean court approved on Tuesday Italy's Fincantieri as the preferred bidder to buy shipbuilder STX France, helping Fincantieri move closer to a deal that could boost its position in the cruise shipbuilding market. The Seoul court spokesman, who announced the decision on Tuesday, declined to give further details on the situation, while a Fincantieri spokesman also declined to comment. The sale of STX France, which specialises in building cruise ships and is profitable, forms part of the broader sale of businesses from the demise of the South Korean STX shipbuilding group.

The South Korean court handling the bankruptcy proceedings of STX Offshore & Shipbuilding Co. said that only a single bidder had submitted a binding proposal to buy the shipyard's profitable French unit, says a report by AFP. STX France, which specialises in building cruise ships, is the only profitable unit of STX Offshore, which filed for receivership in May. Italian shipbuilding giant Fincantieri SpA, Netherlands-based Damen Shipyards Group and French state-controlled naval shipbuilder DCNS had initially expressed interest in acquiring STX France, which specialises in building cruise ships. The four  were supposed to undertake due diligence of STX’s assets for up to two weeks before offering final takeover proposals. But only one bidder has met the deadline for making a binding offer.

Four parties have expressed interest in buying one or both of South Korea's STX Offshore & Shipbuilding Co Ltd and a controlling stake in STX France SA, a spokesman for the Seoul court overseeing STX Offshore's receivership said on Friday. The Seoul Central District Court spokesman declined to comment on the names of the parties. The South Korean court in October decided to allow the two units of the collapsed STX shipbuilding group to be sold either separately or together. Initial bids were due on Friday for all of STX Offshore & Shipbuilding Co Ltd and a 66.7 percent stake in STX France SA that is held by STX Europe AS. The four parties that entered non-binding bids in the sale were France's DCNS Group…

The South Korean court overseeing Hanjin Shipping’s receivership process plans to put the collapsed shipper’s Asia-U.S. operations up for sale as early as Friday, says a report in Fortune. The company said that it is selling major businesses, including its Asia-U.S. route network, and will receive letters of intent by October 28. In a regulatory filing the company said a Seoul court overseeing its receivership process approved a public auction of the major businesses, and it is to get binding bids from interested parties by November 7, after a due diligence process. The spokesman for the Seoul Central District Court said the deadline for binding bids is expected to be Nov. 7. He declined to comment on potential price or interested parties for the assets.

China's COSCO Shipping Co Ltd may consider buying the port assets of troubled South Korean firm Hanjin Shipping Co Ltd, Chinese online finance magazine Caixin reported on Wednesday. But COSCO Shipping has no plans to buy the world's seventh-largest container carrier's ships, Caixin cited the Chinese firm's Chairman Xu Lirong as saying. Hanjin Shipping collapsed last month. Earlier on Wednesday, a South Korean court said it has not yet decided whether a sale of the company is necessary. Reporting by Beijing Monitoring Desk and Paul Carsten

Though Busan Port, the largest customer of Hanjin Shipping and hit hardest by the Liner's collapse,  asserts that everything is under control, doubts are being raised on Hanjin rehab plan as ships clog at the South Korean port, reports Reuters. As 13 Hanjin ships crowded waters outside the country's biggest port, the South Korean court handling Hanjin's receivership cast doubt on the container carrier's ability to survive a restructuring. A rehabilitation plan for the world's seventh-largest container carrier is "realistically impossible" if top priority debt such as backlogged charter fees exceed 1 trillion won ($896 million), the Seoul Central District Court said, South Korea's Yonhap newswire reported on Wednesday.

South Korea's Hanjin Shipping Co Ltd, whose collapse has disrupted global trade, is considering a restructuring plan to sell more than half its ships, the Wall Street Journal reported on Friday, citing people familiar with the matter. However, liquidation remained the most likely outcome for Hanjin Shipping, the newspaper cited the sources as saying. Hanjin Shipping, the world's seventh-largest container carrier, filed for receivership late last month in a South Korean court and must submit a rehabilitation plan in December. The company is working on various scenarios and focusing on one under which Hanjin would retain up to 15 of its 37 ships and return almost all of its 61 chartered ships to their owners, leaving a much smaller carrier, the Wall Street Journal said.

Parent group transfers $36 mln to troubled shipper. It may cost over $150 mln to unload stranded cargo. The chairman of Hanjin Group transferred 40 billion won ($36 million) to Hanjin Shipping on Tuesday to help unload cargo stranded on the troubled shipper's vessels, a spokesman said, but regulators warned securing further funds could take "considerable time". The parent of Hanjin Shipping pledged last week to raise 100 billion won to help rescue cargo in the wake of the collapse of the world's seventh-biggest container shipper, including the 40 billion won from Chairman Cho Yang-ho. About $9 million pledged by Choi Eun-young, a former chairwoman of Hanjin Shipping, has also come in, the shipper said.

South Korea’s biggest shipping company, Hanjin Shipping Co Ltd filed for court receivership in South Korea on Wednesday 31 August 2016 after losing the support of its banks, setting the stage for what has now become a motley situation. Ince & Co's Knowledge Bank takes a look. Some jurisdictions are refusing to allow Hanjin’s vessels to berth at their ports (on concerns that Hanjin cannot pay the port fees) while some of Hanjin’s vessels have instructions not to berth (for fear of ship arrest). The risk of ship arrest is a real one. Hanjin Rome was arrested in the port of Singapore last week. This arrest is likely to be the first of many more…

The bankruptcy of South Korea’s Hanjin Shipping Co have left as much as $14 billion worth of cargo stranded at sea, reports WSJ. The financial woes of one of the world’s biggest shipping lines has thrown ports and retailers around the world into confusion, with giant container ships marooned and merchants worrying whether tons of goods will reach their shelves. It also  it remains unclear if the company can afford to pay the army of workers needed to unload the ships. The owners are trying to recover their goods and get them to customers. Dozens of ships carrying more than half a million cargo containers have been denied access to ports around the world because of uncertainty about who would pay docking fees, container-storage and unloading bills.

Two potential buyers have emerged for STX France, a shipyard subsidiary of the struggling South Korean group STX Corp, according to a French finance ministry source. The French state holds a 33 percent minority stake in STX France, which runs a naval shipyards in Saint Nazaire on the west coast. Lossmaking STX Corp is in administration. A French finance ministry source said a South Korean court was poised to clear a decision to liquidiate STX Corp's assets on Friday this week, a move that could clear the way for the sale of its assets.

As a consequence of Hanjin Shipping's financial collapse one can anticipate that there will be displaced containers worldwide with Hanjin vessels being arrested short of or at destination, being moored up or remaining outside port limits to avoid arrest or being stuck at a port short of destination with the port authority unwilling to provide port services absent payment in advance, says Clyde & Co. One press report we have seen suggests that in excess of 500,000 TEUs already loaded on Hanjin vessels may be subject to delay. To name but a few consequences - there may be a greater theft and port accumulation risk if cargo has to be offloaded and stored. Temperature sensitive cargoes e.g. pharmaceuticals and/or cargoes with a short shelf life e.g.

South Korean bulker operator Pan Ocean re-sumitted its rehabilitation plan to the South Korean court that will see discount rate of cash repayment and decision of reduction of capital. The shipowner will see it reduce payments to creditors as it raises KRW 850bn ($785m) through a new share sale. Pan Ocean went into receivership after incurring over $ 5 billion in debts in 2013, after being battered by tonnage overhang following the global financial crisis. A series of debt-to-equity swaps saw Korea Development Bank become Pan Ocean's biggest shareholder. The restructured company plans to issue 757,844 shares on April 29. The move comes as Pan Ocean settles claims arising from its recent bankruptcy. The main creditor listed is Merrill Lynch, which is awarded 595,924 shares.

South Korean prosecutors on Monday sought the death penalty for the captain of a ferry that capsized in April, leaving 304 people, most of them school children, dead or missing, in a trial of 15 crew who abandoned ship before it sank. Lee Joon-seok, 68, charged with homicide, should be sentenced to death for failing to carry out his duty, which in effect amounted to homicide, the prosecution told the court before resting its case in a trial that has taken place amid intense public anger. Sentiment turned sharply hostile after evidence surfaced that the mostly teenage passengers waited in their cabins, obediently following orders, as the crew escaped. Lee was among 15 accused of abandoning the sharply listing ferry. Four, including the captain, face homicide charges.

InterManager, the international trade association for in‐house and third party ship managers, has condemned the decision by South Korean appeal court judges to jail the Master and Chief Engineer of the Hebei Spirit. Guy Morel, General Secretary of InterManager, slammed the retrial decision, which comes after the pair were found innocent of the same charges by a South Korean court in June this year. “It is unacceptable that these two dedicated seafarers should be treated in this way,” Mr. Morel said. InterManager, whose members represent a worldwide fleet of some 2,500 vessels and more than 100,000 crew, believes the plight of the Hebei Spirit pair has already had a detrimental effect on recruitment at a time when seafarers are in short supply.

About 10 Hanjin vessels effectively seized at China ports; Court says plans to start rehabilitations proceedings soon. Hanjin Shipping Co Ltd vessels have been seized at Chinese ports in the wake of the South Korean firm's collapse, further roiling the industry as freight rates jump and manufacturers scramble for alternatives. Seeking to contain the fallout, a South Korean court said it would soon begin proceedings to rehabilitate the carrier - which would allow Hanjin to take legal action in other countries to keep its ships and other assets from being seized. Rival Hyundai Merchant Marine will also deploy at least 13 of its ships to two routes exclusively serviced by Hanjin, while the South Korean government also plans to reach out to overseas carriers for help.

Of 98 container ships, 44 blocked from ports. U.S. firms take legal action over unpaid bills. Roughly half of Hanjin Shipping Co Ltd's container vessels have been blocked from ports since the South Korean firm's collapse, putting manufacturers and their customers increasingly on edge about the fate of cargo and spikes in freight costs. Woes for world's seventh-largest container shipper have only deepened since its banks withdrew support and it filed for court receivership this week. One vessel has also been seized by a creditor in Singapore while firms in the U.S. have launched legal action against Hanjin to seize vessels and other assets over unpaid bills.