[Exclusive] Court Orders Marineon Helicopter Manufacturer KAI to Compensate Government 1.4 Billion Won for Crash Accident

Government Partially Wins KRW 8 Billion Compensation Lawsuit Against KAI
2018 '5 Soldiers Killed in Service' Verdict After 5 Years
Court: "Defects Including Component Cracks Exist... Liability for Compensation"

Regarding the 2018 crash of the amphibious assault helicopter 'Marinon (MUH-1),' the government won a partial victory in the first trial against the manufacturer Korea Aerospace Industries (KAI) and will receive compensation of approximately 1.43 billion KRW. This comes 5 years and 7 months after the tragedy in which five soldiers lost their lives, and 2 years and 8 months after the government filed the lawsuit in June 2021.

According to the legal community on the 16th, the Seoul Central District Court Civil Division 45 (Presiding Judge Kim Kyung-soo) ruled on the 7th that "KAI shall pay the government approximately 1.43 billion KRW" in a lawsuit where the Republic of Korea government claimed damages of about 8 billion KRW against KAI, granting the plaintiff a partial win.

The court stated, "KAI has the obligation to deliver a defect-free Marinon helicopter according to the contract, but defects such as cracks inside the rotor mast, a component of the helicopter in question, exist," and "since the defects were caused by the intentional or negligent acts of the parts manufacturer, an auxiliary party to KAI's performance, KAI is liable to compensate the government under Article 390 of the Civil Act." The rotor mast is the central shaft that receives power from the engine to rotate the helicopter's propeller.

Marine Corps amphibious assault helicopter 'Marinon' crashed on the runway of Pohang Airfield, Nam-gu, Pohang-si, Gyeongbuk [Image source=Yonhap News]

Previously, the Defense Acquisition Program Administration signed an initial mass production contract with KAI in 2016 to purchase 28 Marinon helicopters for approximately 632.8 billion KRW. The Marine Corps 1st Aviation Unit received the second Marinon helicopter under this contract in 2017.

The issue arose in July 2018 when the Marinon helicopter crashed during a test flight after maintenance at the Pohang Airfield runway in Gyeongbuk. The accident resulted in the deaths of five soldiers on board at the time: the late Colonel Kim Jeong-il, Lieutenant Colonel No Dong-hwan, Sergeant Kim Jin-hwa, Staff Sergeant Kim Se-young, and Corporal Park Jae-woo.

The joint civil-military-government investigation committee on the Marinon crash announced on December 21, 2018, five months after the accident, that "the helicopter crashed from a height of 14 meters after the main rotor detached due to the rotor mast part cracking and breaking caused by manufacturing defects." The committee also concluded that a fire broke out as fuel leaked around the engine during the crash. The government filed a lawsuit against KAI in June 2021.

However, the court dismissed the government's claims regarding death condolence payments to the bereaved families, veterans' pensions covering the expected lifespan of the families, costs related to the joint committee's accident investigation, and expenses for training maintenance personnel for the deceased pilots, stating, "There is insufficient evidence to recognize a substantial causal relationship between this accident and the expenditure of these costs."

Additionally, regarding the depreciation cost of approximately 700 million KRW for the unused period of three Marinon helicopters, the court ruled, "Even if there is a substantial causal relationship between this accident and the non-use of the same type of helicopters, depreciation costs are only recognized as accounting expenses and do not involve actual cash outflow; therefore, it cannot be considered that the government suffered real damages," and did not hold KAI liable for damages in this regard.

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