Government Wins Defense Lawsuit Worth 690 Billion KRW Over F-35 Fighter Jets

US Supreme Court Rejects Appeal in English Blenheim's Filed Damages Lawsuit

The government won a damages lawsuit filed by a British defense industry company.

On the 20th, the Defense Acquisition Program Administration (DAPA) announced that the U.S. Supreme Court on the 18th fully dismissed Blenheim's appeal in a damages case worth approximately 690 billion KRW filed by the British company Blenheim against the Republic of Korea government (DAPA) and others in the U.S. federal court. As a result, the victory of the Republic of Korea government and Lockheed Martin was confirmed.

The plaintiff in this case, Blenheim, claimed that the Republic of Korea government excluded it along with Lockheed Martin and others during the military satellite offset trade process when purchasing F-35 fighter jets from the U.S., thereby infringing on its contractual rights as an offset trade agent. Subsequently, on December 31, 2020, Blenheim filed a lawsuit in the U.S. federal court seeking damages of 500 million USD (approximately 690 billion KRW) against the Republic of Korea, Lockheed Martin, and others.

The defendants, including the government, consistently argued that this contract was a Foreign Military Sale (FMS), which is a 'transaction between nations' rather than a simple commercial transaction, and therefore subject to sovereign immunity, meaning the U.S. courts have no jurisdiction. The U.S. judiciary accepted this argument, and the U.S. Supreme Court ultimately dismissed the plaintiff's appeal.

Notably, on the 15th of last month, the U.S. Department of Justice submitted a brief to the U.S. Supreme Court stating that "this case is subject to sovereign immunity as it is not a commercial transaction and therefore lacks jurisdiction, so the appeal should be dismissed."

A government official stated, "During this decision process, the Ministry of Justice's International Legal Support Division and DAPA closely collaborated for about nine months to respond to the unfair claims of a foreign company against our government," and added, "We will continue to do our best together to protect the people and national interests in international lawsuits related to the defense industry."