Minority shareholders to take legal actions against banks

Minority shareholders who suffered considerable losses following the capital reduction by 6 domestic banks, including Hanvit Bank, are actively preparing to take legal action against them.

According to the ¡®Citizens Movement Union¡¯, which is preparing the case, more than 250 minority shareholders had joined in the lawsuit as of Jan. 3, all of them seeking compensation for financial losses.

More than 140 applications were received in the first two days after the class-action lawsuit was announced and there were three times that number of phone inquiries.

The head of the public lawsuit center, Cho In-Uk, said, ¡°We were swamped with telephone inquiries even before we began accepting applications and, as expected, the reaction of minority shareholders has been enthusiastic.¡±

The group will receive applications from minority shareholders of Hanvit, Seoul, Peace, Cheju, Kwangju and Kyongnam banks until Jan. 10 and will lodge the lawsuit against the banks and the government around Jan. 17. Internet applications can be made at (http://www.peoplelaw.or.kr) and phone inquiries can be made at 02-765-4708.