South Korea has been released from its obligation to pay more than 216 million U.S. dollars to private equity fund Lone Star.

Prime Minister Kim Min-seok announced at a press briefing on Tuesday that the International Center for Settlement of Investment Disputes(ICSID), a World Bank tribunal, had annulled a 2022 ruling ordering the South Korean government to pay 216-point-five million dollars in principal, plus interest, to the U.S. buyout firm.

The prime minister added that the tribunal had ordered Lone Star to reimburse South Korea for legal expenses of around seven-point-three billion won, or approximately five million U.S. dollars, within 30 days.

Lone Star brought a roughly four-point-six billion dollar investor-state dispute settlement suit against South Korea in 2012, accusing the government of unfairly interfering with its planned sale of Korea Exchange Bank. 

In 2022, the ICSID awarded Lone Star 216-point-five million dollars, just four-point-six percent of its original claim.

South Korea and Lone Star both sought annulment in 2023, with the government arguing that the tribunal had committed procedural violations and the company contending that the required compensation was insufficient.