DSME faces more lawsuits from investors

Daewoo Shipbuilding and Marine Engineering faced three additional compensation lawsuits from institutional investors over the massive accounting fraud, following the first one earlier this month, sources said Tuesday.

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

Korea Post also separately sought 400 million won in compensation.

This has led to over 70 billion won in compensation lawsuits against the company in a week.

Earlier last week, the National Pension Service filed a 48.9 billion compensation suit. In 2013, the NPS held 9.12 percent of the shipbuilder but reduced its stake to 0.16 percent by August 2015.

It is speculated that it has lost nearly 200 billion won last year when selling the shares.

More than 400 minority shareholders have also sought the compensation separately, which total amount leads to about 25 billion won.

Under the financial investment law, anyone who directed the manipulation of business reports or quarterly reports must take the responsibility for the compensation if such action causes damage of shareholders or investors.

The shipbuilder has been under the prosecutorial probe since last month for causing the massive accounting fraud that amounted to 5 trillion won from 2012 to 2014.

Suspicion has also grown that the company made a false earnings report by stating that the business lost 2 trillion won between 2013 and 2014 in the earnings report for 2015.

While the company denied the charges and claimed it was a mere mistake, market experts have raised speculations over the company’s attempt for possible “window dressing” to improve the financial statements. 

By Lee Hyun-jeong  (rene@heraldcorp.com)