South Korea’s Mirae Asset Global Investments announced Wednesday that it will pursue legal action against Brookfield Asset Management for failing to return a 200 billion won ($140 million) down payment for the sale of the International Finance Center Seoul.
According to Mirae Asset, the Singapore International Arbitration Center ordered Brookfield to return the down payment and cover additional costs related to the failed acquisition of IFC Seoul by Tuesday. Brookfield, however, has yet to comply.
“Although Brookfield is obligated to return the full down payment along with interest for the delay and arbitration costs as ordered by the SIAC, it has neither taken any action to fulfill its obligations nor issued an official statement,” Mirae Asset said in a written statement.
The company said Brookfield’s “abnormal conduct” undermines trust in the global investment market and disrupts fair trading practices.
Brookfield’s failure to comply with the arbitral award has left the industry speculating about its next move. As international arbitration is a single-instance procedure, Brookfield cannot appeal the decision and faces accumulating daily interest until the award is fully enforced.
“The company has completed preparations to initiate follow-up legal proceedings in accordance with international law and relevant regulations,” Mirae Asset said, adding that it plans to pursue firm legal action against Brookfield, including the provisional seizure of assets. According to Brookfield, it manages about $12 billion in assets in Korea.
In 2022, Mirae Asset was selected as the preferred bidder to acquire IFC Seoul, a landmark mixed-use complex in Yeouido, for 4.1 trillion won. It paid a 200 billion won down payment to secure the deal.
The transaction, however, collapsed after Korea’s Land Ministry rejected the real estate investment trust that Mirae Asset planned to establish to partly finance the acquisition.
Disagreeing over who was responsible for the deal’s failure, the two firms subsequently entered international arbitration over the return of the down payment.
Mirae Asset said it went public with the details of the case to ensure that “actions that disregard legal rulings or evade responsibility do not set a precedent.”
silverstar@heraldcorp.com
