Republic of Korea in Won 940 Billion Block Sales of Industrial Bank of Korea Shares

Cleary Gottlieb represented the Republic of Korea in a series of three Rule 144A and Reg. S block sales amounting to Won 940 billion (approximately $855 million) in the aggregate by the ROK of 72,250,680 common shares of Industrial Bank of Korea, representing 13% of the outstanding common shares, to institutional investors. Merrill Lynch, J.P. Morgan, Korea Investment & Securities, and Samsung Securities were the brokers for the block sales, which closed on November 27, 2013, July 18, 2014 and December 5, 2014, respectively.

Industrial Bank of Korea, established by the Industrial Bank of Korea Act, was incorporated in 1961 by the Korean government to provide development finance and related banking services to small- and medium-sized Korean enterprises. As a specialized bank that serves the government’s public policy objectives, Industrial Bank of Korea is treated as a special juridical entity and is not subject to certain laws regulating commercial banks. The ROK still owns 51.2% of Industrial Bank of Korea’s outstanding common shares.