The South Korean government has been confirmed to win the lawsuit for damages of $500 million, brought against by the British defense company Blenheim Capital in a U.S. Supreme Court.
The Ministry of Justice and the Defense Acquisition Program Administration announced on the 20th that the U.S. Supreme Court had dismissed Blenheim Capital’s appeals on the 17th. As a result, the victory of the South Korean government and U.S. defense companies like Lockheed Martin Corporation has been confirmed.
Blenheim Capital filed a lawsuit seeking $500 million in compensation, alleging that the South Korean government and Lockheed Martin Corporation excluded the firm from the military satellite offset arrangements during South Korea’s purchase of F-35 fighters from the U.S. The company claims this exclusion violated its contractual rights as an offset agent.
The defendants, including the South Korean government, consistently argued that this contract is a Foreign Military Sale (FMS), a state-to-state transaction rather than a simple commercial transaction, and thus is exempt from the jurisdiction of U.S. courts.
The U.S. judiciary accepted the defendant’s argument and ultimately dismissed the plaintiff’s appeal (Blenheim Capital) in the U.S. Supreme Court.
In particular, the U.S. Department of Justice also submitted an opinion to the U.S. Supreme Court on May 15 this year, stating that “the appeal should be dismissed since this case is not a commercial transaction but a subject to sovereign immunity and therefore falls outside the jurisdiction.”
The Ministry of Justice said, “The newly established International Legal Affairs Support Division of the Ministry of Justice and the Defense Acquisition Program Administration have closely collaborated for about nine months to respond to the unreasonable claims of foreign companies in this case,” and added, “We will continue to do our best to protect the people and national interests in international lawsuits related to the defense industry.”
