ADD Researchers Engage in Litigation Over Royalties

[Asia Economy Yang Nak-gyu, Military Specialist Reporter] Researchers affiliated with the Agency for Defense Development (ADD) are reportedly engaged in a legal battle demanding performance bonuses for the weapon systems they developed.

According to the military on the 21st, ADD develops weapon systems together with companies, and when those weapon systems are exported, it is agreed that technology fees will be received. Technology fees are a type of commission collected each time a company exports a weapon system, with the government leading the initial stages of weapon development and developing the technology.

About 400 ADD researchers who participated in the development of the K-2 tank are currently pursuing a lawsuit against ADD, claiming payment of technology fee compensation related to the export of tank technology to Turkey finalized in 2008. The amount of technology fee compensation is 141.7 billion KRW (based on the Korean won at the time) for exporting K-2 tank technology to Turkey in 2015. Of this, 50%, approximately 70 billion KRW, was allocated as performance bonuses to about 400 researchers involved in the tank development according to relevant regulations.

However, many researchers raised dissatisfaction with the distribution method, citing differences in the degree of contribution to the tank development, and after attempts to resolve the issue internally failed, it ultimately led to legal disputes. As a result, the performance bonuses have reportedly not been paid for six years.

Representative Kim pointed out, "ADD has never received technology fees exceeding 100 billion KRW, nor has it distributed performance bonuses amounting to hundreds of billions, so there are no detailed regulations regarding the payment of performance bonuses."

He added, "If 400 out of 2,400 researchers participate in a class-action lawsuit, regardless of the outcome, the aftermath related to financial issues will be quite significant," emphasizing, "Performance bonuses should be fairly paid to those who deserve them, and the rest must be reinvested in developing advanced weapons."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.