Suspect list grows in KF-21 fighter jet technology leak

A domestically developed KF-21 fighter jet is seen at the Korea Aerospace Industries hanger in Sacheon, South Gyeongsang on May 10, 2023. [JOINT PRESS CORPS]

Police are expanding their investigation into the potential leak of Korean fighter jet technology by an Indonesian engineer as the list of suspects grows.

During the police’s investigation into the Indonesian engineer first referred to the police in February, authorities found evidence that another suspect was involved in the alleged theft of technology regarding the KF-21 fighter jet, according to an exclusive report by the JoongAng Ilbo, an affiliate of the Korea JoongAng Daily, citing multiple officials familiar with the situation.

On Feb. 22, the Defense Acquisition Program Administration (DAPA) requested a police investigation into an Indonesian engineer suspected of attempting to steal technologies related to the domestically developed KF-21 fighter jet after conducting a preliminary joint probe with the National Intelligence Service and Defense Counterintelligence Command.

The Indonesian engineer was posted to work at Korea Aerospace Industries (KAI), the manufacturer of the KF-21, a 4.5-generation fighter jet under development with partial funding from Indonesia. The engineer was caught in January attempting to take a USB storage device with classified data on the fighter jet, according to DAPA.

While analyzing the classified data on the USB device, police found that another Indonesian engineer had actively participated in gathering the stolen data, according to the JoongAng report.

“The investigative authorities were first looking into who took unauthorized photographs of the KF-21 blueprint contained in the USB, and suspicions against additional people arose during this process,” a source quoted by the JoongAng Ilbo said.

The police are expected to conduct a forensic investigation to determine precisely how the data was copied to the USB device. The second suspect will likely be booked in the process.

As numerous written reports in Indonesian were discovered on the USB device, the number of suspects subject to investigation may increase. The possibility that the KF-21 technology leak by Indonesian engineers was planned and deliberate cannot be ruled out.

DAPA, the National Intelligence Service and Defense Counterintelligence Command conducted a preliminary investigation and determined that the USB device the initial suspect tried to smuggle contained between 4,000 and 6,600 data files.

The USB data is also suspected to contain the 3D modeling program for the KF-21 fighter jet, a core technology. Police are still investigating.

The deepening probe into the allegations against the Indonesian engineer comes as the funding for the KF-21 project continues to be plagued by payment delays from Jakarta.

Although Indonesia initially promised to pay 20 percent of the KF-21 project's 8.8 trillion won ($6.5 billion) price tag, the country is currently in arrears by more than 1 trillion won, having only paid around 278.3 billion won thus far.

The KF-21 project is Korea’s most expensive defense project to date.

Seoul plans to begin production of KF-21 fighter jets later this year to deploy 120 KF-21 aircraft by 2032.

In return for its contribution, Indonesia is due to locally produce 48 KF-21 jets after receiving one prototype and technical data.

BY LIM JEONG-WON [lim.jeongwon@joongang.co.kr]