HDC and Mirae Asset forfeited their ₩250B deposit by walking from Asiana

In November 2019, HDC Hyundai Development Company was selected as preferred bidder for Asiana Airlines, with Mirae Asset Securities joining the consortium and ₩250 billion placed in escrow toward the purchase from parent Kumho. Ten months later, in September 2020, the consortium abruptly scrapped the acquisition, citing Asiana's snowballing debt. Asiana and Kumho — advised by two of Korea's top law firms, Yoon & Yang and Shin & Kim — sued that November, claiming the contract was cancelled because HDC had simply grown reluctant to finish the deal.

On November 17, 2022, the Seoul Central District Court sided with the sellers: HDC and Mirae Asset were not entitled to the refund of their combined ₩250 billion from escrow, and were ordered to pay a further ₩1.5 billion for breaching the contract. HDC said it would appeal — regretting that 'the court did not take into account negative effects from the seller's fault' — blaming the cancellation on Asiana's refusal to provide enough information. If the appeal failed, HDC would lose ₩200 billion and Mirae Asset ₩50 billion, while Asiana and Kumho would bank ₩220 billion and ₩30 billion.

For HDC the timing was brutal: the builder had already been paying compensation to buyers of the Gwangju I'Park apartment complex, whose reconstruction followed its collapse earlier that year. Asiana, meanwhile, welcomed the ruling as it navigated growing uncertainty around its acquisition by rival Korean Air.

The consortium committed ₩250 billion in escrow before closing, giving the sellers a claim worth fighting for when the deal collapsed.

HDC scrapped the purchase in September 2020 citing Asiana's ballooning debt — but the court found the buyer's reluctance to close, not the seller's disclosures, broke the contract.

The court not only kept the deposit with the sellers but added ₩1.5 billion in damages for the breach itself.

HDC's appeal gamble exposed it to an already heavy year, with Gwangju I'Park compensation costs stacking onto the frozen deposit.

Deposits price your right to walk away: HDC learned that cold feet on a ₩trillion deal costs a quarter-trillion won even when the target's books look bad.

HDC lodged an appeal to 'protect its shareholders and stakeholders', hiring Yulchon while Mirae Asset retained Lee & Ko. Asiana urged HDC to comply with the ruling, and the verdict briefly eased pressure on the airline as its Korean Air takeover wobbled through uncertainty.