The Seoul Central District Court ordered subsidiaries of the nation's largest group to sell shares given to creditors in 1999 in lieu of Samsung Motor's huge debts. But it reduced the repayment claimed by the creditors.

'Samsung Group subsidiaries are obliged to cash the remaining shares ... and pay the proceedings to the creditors,' the court said in a statement.

The group had claimed the 1999 deal was invalid. It accused creditors of imposing 'unjust pressure' by threatening to cut off credit lines at a time when it was weak following the Asian financial crisis.

Samsung said it has no legal obligation to repay the debts of Samsung Motor, which was taken over by France's Renault in 2000 to form Renault-Samsung.

The 14 creditors went to court in 2005, saying they were unable to sell 3.5 million shares in the unlisted Samsung Life Insurance Co which group chairman Lee Kun Hee gave them in 1999 to settle the auto unit's debts.

The group had pledged to list the shares, whose value was estimated at 700,000 won each at the time.

But the deal went sour because Samsung Life has never been listed. The creditors, including many state-owned banks, were unable to cash the shares because of the large volume and disagreements over their value.

The creditors led by Seoul Guarantee Insurance wanted Samsung to take back the shares and repay all the debts in cash. They claimed a total of 4.7 trillion won (S$6.4 billion) - 2.45 trillion won in principal and 2.29 trillion won in accrued interest.

Presiding Judge Kim Jae-Bok dismissed Samsung's claim that the 1999 agreement was unjust and invalid, saying it benefited the group at that time.

But the court reduced the amount of repayment. It ruled that Samsung should sell 2.3 million shares rather than 3.5 million, because key creditor Seoul Guarantee Insurance has already sold the margin to others.

The court also cut the interest payable.

It remains unclear when the insurance company will go public. 'We have been preparing to be listed but I can't say when we can do so,' a Samsung Life spokesman said on Thursday. --AFP