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Mon, July 4, 2022 | 12:07
LS Group faces big damages lawsuit
정부, LS에 곧 두 번째 손해배상청구
Posted : 2013-10-22 18:15
Updated : 2013-10-22 18:15
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By Choi Kyong-ae

The state-run Korea Hydro & Nuclear Power (KHNP) said Tuesday it will file a major lawsuit by December to gain compensation from JS Cable for supplying faulty cables to two new nuclear reactors.

The move could do irreparable damage to the firm and its parent, LS Group.

"After preparing all documents, we will file the case with a court as soon as possible," a KHNP official told The Korea Times by telephone. "We will ask JS Cable to pay all the costs for the removal of existing cables, the purchase and installment of new ones, and for the power-production losses incurred by the delay in reactor operations."

The official said that KHNP is seeking far more than 9 billion won ($8.5 million) it sought in a previous lawsuit filed in September. "The compensation does not stay at 9 billion won and it will rise as the trial proceeds," he said.

The suspension of reactor operations has already cost KHNP around 450 billion won since May when three reactors were taken offline for cable replacement.

Currently, six reactors are affected by the scandal which erupted last year. Their combined power-generation capacity is 6.8 million kilowatts.

On top of paying compensation, JS Cable is likely to be barred from bidding for supply contracts with the government for up to two years, the official said.

Nose-diving credibility, falling share prices and poor business performances are adding to the woes of the LS Group, the country's 13th-biggest conglomerate by assets.

Shares in JS Cable have fallen 25 percent this month to Monday, underperforming the broader Kospi's 2.8 percent gain. The company swung to a net loss of 295 million won in the April-June quarter, compared to a net profit of 2.5 billion won a year earlier.

In response to the government move, JS Group said it is considering all possible options, including a countersuit against KHNP, if the state firm files the second damages suit. KHNP has already asked for a provisional attachment to prevent JS Cable from selling its assets.

Meanwhile, the government seems to be doing the right thing according to remarks from Jeffrey Jones, a lawyer at Kim & Chang law firm.

"The primary difference between the U.S. and Korean legal systems is the amount of damages that can be collected from the supply of defective products," Jones said in an emailed message sent to The Korea Times.

"In Korea, the losses are limited to the actual losses incurred by the company as a result of the supply of the defective product, i.e., the cost of replacement, whereas in Korea lost profits are generally not considered actual damages," he said. "In the U.S., however, damages are much broader than actual damages and reasonably foreseeable damages can also be recovered to include lost profits that would have been generated if electricity could have been supplied during the time the plant was inoperable."

However, Jones said "it is questionable under Korea's legal system whether KHNP will be able to recover lost profits that could have been generated during the period that plants were shut down."

Korea has 23 commercial nuclear reactors, generating about 30 percent of its electricity. The country will push forward plans to build 11 more reactors by 2024 to meet a growing local power demand though it aims to its reliance on nuclear power energy to 22 to 29 percent by 2035 from 41 percent currently.


정부, LS에 곧 두 번째 손해배상청구

한국수력원자력(한수원)은 불량케이블을 원자력발전소에 납품한 JS전선을 대상으로 곧 대규모 손해배상을 청구한다고 밝혔다.

이번 소송은 한수원이 JS대상으로 청구하는 두 번째 손해배상소송으로서 모기업인 LS그룹에게도 큰 부담이 될 것으로 보인다.

“모든 서류가 준비되는대로 최대한 빨리 소장을 접수할 계획입니다. 배상청구액에는 기존 케이블철거비용, 새케이블구입 및 설치비용, 그리고 발전소를 돌리지 못하는 기간동안 발생하는 전력발전손실분까지 포함됩니다,” 라고 익명을 요구한 한수원 직원은 말했다.

9월에 이미 한수원은 JS전선에 90억원 손해배상청구를 신청했지만 배상금액은 소송이 진행되면 늘어날 것이라고 그 직원은 말했다.

작년여름에 불량케이블공급관련 원전비리가 터지고 나서 지난 5월에 발전중이던 3기이 원자력발전소가 케이블교체를 위해 발전을 멈추었고 최근까지 향후 12개월에 걸쳐 건설을 마치고 발전을 시작하려던 3기가 역시 케이블교체를 위해 발전개시를 연기하게 되었다.

이미 5월 이후 발전중단으로 3기에서 유발된 발전손실금액이 4,500억원에 달하는 걸로 봐서 추가적으로 발전이 중단되면 수 천억원에 달하는 추가손실금액이 발생할 것으로 보인다.

바른법인의 박주범변호사는 JS전선은 이대로라면 망할 수 있고 그럴경우 모기업인 LS그룹에도 막대한 영향을 끼칠 수 있다고 말했다. 대규모 건설공사에 공급하는 전기부품이 주력사업인 LS그룹은 2008년 금융위기 이후 침체국면을 걷고 있는 건설경기탓에 좋은 실적을 내지 못해왔다.

이미 JS전선주가는 이달들어 25퍼센트 급락했고 재판에서 질 경우, 길게 2년동안 정부가 발주하는 공급계약에서 배제됨으로써 경영상 타격을 입게 될 전망이다.
Emailcka@koreatimes.co.kr Article ListMore articles by this reporter
 
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