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SKorean court clears officials over Lone Star sale
By KELLY OLSEN,AP Business Writer AP - 2 hours 15 minutes ago
SEOUL, South Korea - A South Korean court cleared two former officials Monday in a case related to the acquisition of a local bank by Lone Star Funds in what could be a boon to the buyout group's troubled efforts to sell the lender.
The Seoul Central District Court absolved former finance ministry official Byeon Yang-ho and former Korea Exchange Bank chief Lee Kang-won of breach of trust charges over allegations they conspired to understate the lender's value, according to Ma Yong-joo, a court spokesman.
Dallas, Texas-based Lone Star took over KEB in late 2003 by purchasing a controlling stake. The fund has long battled allegations that it was able to acquire the then distressed lender at a bargain price.
In clearing the men, Presiding Judge Lee Kyoo-jin said that there were few other options available to KEB at the time than the purchase by Lone Star, according to Ma.
Prosecutors had contended that Byeon and Lee worked with Lone Star to intentionally understate KEB's assets, thus arranging for the bank to be sold at a price that was up to 825.2 billion won cheaper than it should have been valued.
South Korea's Yonhap news agency quoted a prosecution spokesman as saying prosecutors would appeal the ruling.
The firm in Seoul that handles public relations for Lone Star said it had received no immediate comment from the fund. Korea Exchange Bank said it "respects the court ruling," according to spokeswoman Kim Eun-young.
Lone Star has been unable to unload its stake, hampered by various legal and regulatory uncertainties.
South Korea's financial regulator has said that legal cases surrounding Lone Star must be wrapped up before a sale can be approved.
The most recent effort to sell the stake collapsed in September when British bank HSBC Holdings PLC said it canceled a purchase agreement, in part citing global financial turmoil. HSBC had contracted last year to buy Lone Star's controlling stake in KEB, South Korea's fifth-largest lender, for about $6 billion.
Lone Star purchased the 51 percent stake in 2003 for about 1.4 trillion won, or about $1.2 billion at exchange rates at that time.
The fund has consistently denied any wrongdoing related to the purchase of KEB and argued that its rehabilitation of the lender has been good for South Korea's economy.
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Associated Press Writer Eugene Lee contributed to this report.
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