Fighter jet decision is called near

The selection of the South Korean Air Force's next-generation fighter jet will be finalized March 28, the National Defense Ministry reported Sunday.

The ministry said it plans to announce the results of the first evaluation of jets competing for the contract on March 25 after compiling results of four separate trials, including the Korea Institutes for Defense Analysis.

An official at the ministry said, "If the two jets score within 3 percent of one another, the second phase evaluation will be initiated."

The second phase involves taking into consideration South Korea-U.S. security relations, making the U.S.-built Boeing F-15K the likely winner, defense analysts said.

The ministry plans to move the evaluation into an underground bunker near Seoul on Thursday to prevent information leaks.

A recent leak of confidential documents on the project, codenamed F-X, prompted an investigation by the Defense Security Command. A Defense Ministry source said if that investigation dragged on, it could delay the announcement of the ministry's selection for the project.

Four companies, including a Russian defense contractor and a European consortium vied for the 4.2 trillion won ($3.2 billion) contract, but recently the competition narrowed to two: the French-built Dassault Rafale and the F-15K.

The project, aimed at improving the nation's air force by purchasing 40 state-of-the-art fighters, has turned into a international tug-of-war, with Washington and Paris having tried to influence the selection.

Two South Korean Air Force colonels were arrested recently on charges of accepting bribes from Dassault representatives in Korea in exchange for disclosing vital information on the project.

Colonel Cho Ju-hyeong allegedly took a bribe from the French firm in exchange for information on the selection criteria. Colonel Cho insisted that Deputy Minister of National Defense Choi Dong-jin had ordered him to make the criteria as favorable to Boeing as possible.

The other colonel, whose name was not revealed, allegedly handed the confidential document over to Dassault, which has denied the bribery allegations.

by Kim Min-seok