[Yang Nak-gyu's Defence Club] Has KAI Leaked Confidential Information to Indonesia?

There have been indications that Indonesia attempted to leak aircraft technology, including the KF-21, which was planned to be jointly developed. There are concerns that the joint development may be canceled due to diplomatic issues.

On the 17th, the domestically produced supersonic fighter jet KF-21 was unveiled at the 'Seoul International Aerospace and Defense Exhibition (ADEX) 2023' held at Seoul Airport in Seongnam, Gyeonggi Province. Photo by Jinhyung Kang aymsdream@

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According to investigative authorities on the 2nd, an Indonesian technician was caught trying to take about eight USB flash drives outside the company on the 17th of last month. The technician was reportedly caught while trying to take the USBs out through a separate entrance used by outsiders and Indonesians and hand them over to someone else. According to the investigation so far, there is no direct aircraft technology involved. However, it appears that the USBs contained documents compiling daily reports from dispatched employees. The authorities are investigating whether the information written in the daily reports qualifies as military secrets.

There is also a possibility that Indonesian technicians leaked a large amount of information during their dispatch period. Since the project started in 2016, about 30 Indonesian local technicians have been assigned to KAI's Sacheon factory. They were dispatched to acquire aerospace technology and share technology related to the KF-21. It is known that the Indonesian technicians are currently prohibited from leaving the country.

If Indonesian technicians have stolen confidential materials related to aircraft such as the KF-21, it inevitably becomes a diplomatic issue. The joint development could also be canceled. Indonesia joined the joint development in January 2016 under conditions including bearing about 20% of the KF-21 development cost, approximately 1.7 trillion won (later reduced to 1.6245 trillion won), by June 2026, in exchange for receiving one prototype and various technical data. However, Indonesia has delayed payment of its share and has only paid 278.3 billion won to date. If this becomes a diplomatic issue, the 20% development cost may not be received, causing problems for future operational deployment.

In particular, Indonesia has damaged trust not only in the KF-21 project but also by deciding to postpone the purchase of the French-made used fighter jets ‘Mirage 2000-5’, which had recently been contracted with Qatar. Moreover, Indonesia has raised suspicions by consecutively signing other fighter jet purchase contracts besides the KF-21. The Indonesian government signed a contract in February 2022 to purchase 42 French-made ‘Rafale’ fighter jets, and in June last year, agreed to buy 12 used French-made ‘Mirage 2000-5’ fighter jets from Qatar for about 1 trillion won.

Some speculate that the outcome of next month's presidential election will be a turning point in resolving the KF-21 payment issue, as Prabowo Subianto, the Indonesian Minister of Defense who has led the arms contract discussions, is running as an opposition candidate.

An intelligence official said, "Indonesia is buying foreign fighter jets while failing to pay its share," adding, "We need to closely watch whether they are trying to steal only core aerospace technology."

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