Documentation Question
On June 22nd, the Seoul Central District Court ordered Elliott’s legal representative, Nexus, to submit the original of a document that analyzes the value of Samsung C&T Corp. and Cheil Corp. The legitimacy of this document was called into question by Samsung C&T's legal team the day before. The court also ordered the Han Young Accounting Firm, which produced the document, to submit the appraisal document.
This act is the court's official response to the request made by Samsung C&T on the 21st. Samsung filed a petition with the Seoul Central District Court, specifically Kim Yong-dae, the chief of civil affairs. The insider tipped off a procedural fact that “failure in submitting requested documents by the court would have tilted the judicial decision against Elliot.”
Samsung C&T argued that the report submitted by Elliott was created for general investment purposes rather than for the merger. The company also pointed out that Elliott copied the document without permission. Samsung C&T highlighted that the submitted document doesn’t contain the purpose of the report, the identity of the producer, or a signature by the director of the Han Young Accounting Firm. Given the questionable credibility of the document, Samsung C&T also requested the final version of the entire document from the Han Young Accounting Firm.
Samsung's move highlights the company’s intentions to put forth that Elliott’s documents are inappropriate as evidence before the court decides on the injunction.
This report was produced when Elliott requested an appraisal of Cheil and Samsung C&T in Feb. and April this year.
In fact, Elliott is now on the defensive, as Han Young Accounting, which produced the document submitted by Elliot, said that the document is only an initial draft, and that is why it doesn’t have a stamp indicating final approval. If the court decides that the report submitted by Elliott is invalid, then the decision may serve as a variable in the current dispute.
In an interview with MK, Elliott is quoted as saying that the documentation question “is baseless claims, and totally denied.” Meanwhile, on June 19th, President of Samsung C&T Choe Chi-hun and CEO of Cheil Corp. called a press conference where they stressed the necessity of the merger.