Why the Campelo Costa credit can no longer be disputed
Part of the coverage of the POSCO case has reported that the credit held by Campelo Costa Sociedade Individual de Advocacia can still be disputed in court. This note sets out the dates and the legal provisions that allow any journalist to verify the position independently.
The records cited are in Portuguese.
Where the credit comes from
The credit does not arise from a contract, a promissory note, a cheque or an acknowledgement of debt. It arises from two arbitral awards ordering payment.
- 29 July 2019 Award in the first arbitration.
- 17 July 2025 Award in the second arbitration.
Under article 31 of Law 9,307/1996, an arbitral award produces the same effects as a judgment handed down by the courts and, where it orders payment, constitutes an enforceable judicial title.
The window to set it aside
Brazil's Arbitration Law provides no appeal on the merits against an arbitral award. The route to set one aside is the annulment action under article 33, which must be filed within 90 days of receipt of notice of the award (article 33, § 1).
- October 2019 Close of the window for the first arbitration.
- October 2025 Close of the window for the second arbitration.
No annulment action was filed in either case. The period is one of forfeiture: once it expires, it is neither tolled nor reopened.
What the self-filed bankruptcy sought to do
POSCO Engenharia e Construção do Brasil Ltda. was incorporated in Brazil by POSCO Engineering & Construction Co. Ltd., holder of 99% of its quotas, for the sole purpose of building the Pecém steel mill.
With the works completed and the payments received, the subsidiary filed for its own bankruptcy, declaring R$ 109.80 in its current account, roughly R$ 4,800 in financial investments, a non-working vehicle and a plot of land — against liabilities creditors estimate at more than R$ 1.1 billion.
What remains genuinely open
Not the existence or the amount of the credit, but who answers for it.
That question is being decided in the proceeding to pierce the corporate veil (IDPJ), in which the Ceará courts have already found indications of commingling of assets and of the Korean group's interference in the Brazilian subsidiary. On 3 September 2026 the court added POSCO Holdings Inc. as a defendant in that proceeding.
POSCO's position
In the case file the company argues that the applicant's recognised credit amounts to R$ 107,500, that cost control by the parent is a regular exercise of shareholder rights, and that some of the documents filed by the creditors were unlawfully obtained.
POSCO E&C has told the press that the allegations are false.