Seo Samsuk: "Main Helicopters Grounded by Parts Shortage... Unable to Deploy During North Gyeongsang Wildfire"

60-Year-Old American Helicopters
Expose Limits of National Disaster Response System

Seosam Seok, member of the Democratic Party of Korea.

It has been revealed that the S-64 heavy firefighting helicopter was unable to be deployed during the large-scale wildfire in North Gyeongsang Province last March due to delays in securing parts. This has exposed a structural flaw in the national disaster response system.

According to data submitted by Democratic Party of Korea lawmaker Seo Samsuk (Yeongam, Muan, and Sinan in South Jeolla Province) from the Korea Forest Service on October 20, two out of seven S-64 helicopters had been grounded for more than six months due to shortages of critical components. Another helicopter experienced mechanical failures for four consecutive days from March 21 to 25 due to poor maintenance, which limited its operational deployment.

The problematic S-64 helicopters are "remanufactured helicopters" that were modified from airframes produced in the 1960s, with an average age of 60 years. Two of these helicopters were unable to operate for over 200 days because they could not receive engine parts and regular 150-hour inspection components in time from the United States, the country of manufacture.

Seo pointed out, "The fact that our main helicopters have been grounded for more than half a year due to delayed parts supply is not simply a maintenance issue, but a fundamental limitation in our response system." He added, "In particular, the new helicopters scheduled for introduction are also remanufactured models from the 1960s, so there is a high likelihood that the same problems will recur."

Meanwhile, due to the impact of the Russia-Ukraine war, it has also become difficult to secure parts for Russian-made KA-32 helicopters, leading to a sharp decline in their operational rate. During the North Gyeongsang wildfire, only 21 out of 29 helicopters were available for deployment. The number of operational helicopters subsequently dropped from 29 in 2023 to 17 as of August 2025.

Seo emphasized, "It is a serious issue that, following Russian-made helicopters, even our main American-made helicopters are now suffering from parts shortages." He stressed the need to proactively secure essential parts before maintenance intervals and to strengthen the inspection system for the operation and safety of new helicopters.

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