Divya Delhi:  South Korea lost a lawsuit to overturn an investor-state dispute settlement (ISDS) verdict that required it to compensate Mason Capital for damages from Samsung's controversial merger. According to Yonhap, the Seoul Ministry of Justice said that the Singapore International Commercial Court denied the South Korean government's appeal the day before to nullify Mason's arbitration verdict. Mason filed the investor-state dispute settlement, alleging that the South Korean government pressured the National Pension Service, a significant Samsung C&T shareholder, to vote for its merger with Cheil Industries. According to the report, Mason stated that Samsung C&T and Samsung Electronics stock prices plummeted, forcing the firm to lose $200 million. The arbitration tribunal partially upheld Mason's claims and ordered the South Korean government to pay $32 million in compensation plus 5% delayed compound interest. In July, the South Korean government sued Singapore to overturn the arbitration verdict. The justice ministry claims that the finding misread jurisdiction recognition standards under the South Korea-U.S. free trade agreement and should be vacated. The study noted that the merger, intended to tighten Samsung heir Lee Jae-yong's control over the family-controlled firm, was the center of a large influence-peddling scandal that ousted former President Park Geun-hye and imprisoned Lee. Mason accused the Park administration of overinfluencing the state-run National Pension Service, a major shareholder in Samsung C&T and a swing vote for the merger.