National security chief should face responsibility for botched fighter jet profram

Kim Kwan-jin, chief of the National Security Office, told the National Assembly that although he had been briefed in June on the U.S. government`s refusal to transfer core technologies for building fighter jets to South Korea, he did not report it to President Park Geun-hye. He said he had decided that South Korea was able to locally develop or cooperate with a third country to develop the core technologies, including the active electronically scanned array (AESA) radar integration owned by Lockheed Martin.

Chang Myeong-jin, minister of the Defense Acquisition Program Administration, told the National Assembly that he had reported to the presidential office Cheong Wa Dae on the fact that Washington had rejected the technology transfer. It is hard to understand that the national security chief failed to report to the president even through the 20-trillion-won (1.8 billion U.S. dollars) project to build locally developed fighter jets had hit a snag in term of technological transfer from the U.S.

Kim claimed that when he made a decision to select the Lockheed Martin`s F-35As as South Korea`s next-generation fighter jets while serving as defense minister and head of a state committee on defense acquisition project, he was not briefed on the fact that it was impossible for the U.S. to transfer the core technologies. However, a subcommittee had already concluded that it was impossible to obtain the technologies. Kim said he had been briefed only on key issues, it is hard to understand what else he had been briefed on without the technology transfer issue, which was the most important. Kim also said he had been briefed that the defense acquisition agency would continue its efforts to receive the technological transfer, although it was impossible. Such an explanation suggests he was trying to avoid his responsibility.

President Park`s chief of staff said Friday that the president had not been briefed on the issue until September. If Kim did not know about the impossibility of the technological transfer, he is incompetent. If he pretends ignorance despite his awareness of the issue, he is deceiving the president as well as the public. Kim also escaped his crisis caused by North Korean drones` infiltrations and a series of human rights abuses in military barracks, claiming that he had no knowledge about those issues.

Cheong Wa Dae is investigating into the failure by the DAPA and the Ministry of National Defense to properly report details of the next-generation fighter issue. The presidential office should also carry out a thorough investigation into suspicions surrounding the national security chief and disclose the results to the public. It is questionable whether President Park is properly aided by Kim, the control tower of Korea`s national security.