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On behalf of the Republic of Korea, LIN achieved a major victory in a civil lawsuit in a New Jersey court, securing a USD 75.5 million summary judgment against the shareholders of a U.S. company that exported defective weapons.
GMB USA Inc. and Hackenco, Inc., both incorporated in New Jersey, USA, had contracts with the South Korean Defense Acquisition Program Administration to supply equipment to be attached to the Navy's Tongyeong vessel, and after receiving a total of $75.5 million in advance payments, they supplied the defective equipment. The Korean government initiated arbitration proceedings against these U.S. companies at the Korean Commercial Arbitration Board, which resulted in a favorable award for Korea.
LIN's International Disputes Team (led by U.S. Attorney Hyun Sang Youn) sought recognition and enforcement of the foreign arbitral award in the court in New Jersey, where GMB and Hackenco were located, and obtained a recognition and enforcement judgment from the New Jersey court in March 2019. However, the companies had transferred or sold all their assets to their shareholders' families and affiliates and subsequently dissolved.
In response, we commenced an action for declaratory judgment, rescission, and successor liability in the New Jersey court, naming as defendants the shareholders of GMB and Hackenco, Bryant Kang, his wife, Lauren Kim, their children, and other U.S. entities behind them.
Over the course of the litigation, the defendants filed various counterclaims, thereby delaying the case, but in October 2022, more than three years after the initial filing of the complaint, LIN and the local legal team obtained a summary judgment ruling against Kang Deokwon and Kim Juhee in the New Jersey court.
The ruling denied GMB and Hackenco corporate personhood, making their shareholders, Deokwon Kang and Juhee Kim, personally liable for the debts of the companies. The $75.5 million in advance payments that GMB and Hackenco received from the South Korean government must also be returned by the shareholders.
We will do our best to recover the Korean taxpayers' precious funds in the international litigation against the companies and their shareholders that supplied the defective weapons.
GMB USA Inc. and Hackenco, Inc., both incorporated in New Jersey, USA, had contracts with the South Korean Defense Acquisition Program Administration to supply equipment to be attached to the Navy's Tongyeong vessel, and after receiving a total of $75.5 million in advance payments, they supplied the defective equipment. The Korean government initiated arbitration proceedings against these U.S. companies at the Korean Commercial Arbitration Board, which resulted in a favorable award for Korea.
LIN's International Disputes Team (led by U.S. Attorney Hyun Sang Youn) sought recognition and enforcement of the foreign arbitral award in the court in New Jersey, where GMB and Hackenco were located, and obtained a recognition and enforcement judgment from the New Jersey court in March 2019. However, the companies had transferred or sold all their assets to their shareholders' families and affiliates and subsequently dissolved.
In response, we commenced an action for declaratory judgment, rescission, and successor liability in the New Jersey court, naming as defendants the shareholders of GMB and Hackenco, Bryant Kang, his wife, Lauren Kim, their children, and other U.S. entities behind them.
Over the course of the litigation, the defendants filed various counterclaims, thereby delaying the case, but in October 2022, more than three years after the initial filing of the complaint, LIN and the local legal team obtained a summary judgment ruling against Kang Deokwon and Kim Juhee in the New Jersey court.
The ruling denied GMB and Hackenco corporate personhood, making their shareholders, Deokwon Kang and Juhee Kim, personally liable for the debts of the companies. The $75.5 million in advance payments that GMB and Hackenco received from the South Korean government must also be returned by the shareholders.
We will do our best to recover the Korean taxpayers' precious funds in the international litigation against the companies and their shareholders that supplied the defective weapons.