Minister of Defense – Counterintelligence Command vacancy vacancy
6-month business delay due to industry dispute
“The timing of electrification cannot be delayed any longer.”
Due to the impeachment of President Yoon Seok-yeol, which arose due to the declaration of martial law on December 3, the Korean next-generation destroyer (KDDX) project worth nearly 8 trillion won was also inevitably disrupted. This is because the position of Minister of National Defense, which has a great influence on the project, is vacant, and the Armed Forces Counterintelligence Command (Counterintelligence), which was recently put on the chopping block, is also significantly involved in this project. Initially, the plan was to select a business operator by the first half of this year, but the delay was further delayed and it appears that it will take well over a year.
According to the defense industry on the 24th, the counterintelligence agency began investigating a company suspected of arbitrarily storing confidential information related to KDDX and then using this information in bidding. The industry believes that there is a high possibility that a business operator will be selected after the results of the counterintelligence investigation are released. This means that the selection of a business operator may be further delayed. In addition, as the counterintelligence commander Yeo Yeo-hyung was suspended from his duties in the aftermath of the martial law incident, the results of the counterintelligence investigation may be delayed further than expected.
Another problem is that the position of chairman of the Defense Acquisition Program Promotion Committee, which will play a key role in project promotion, is vacant. The chairman of the Defense Security Committee is the Minister of National Defense. With the arrest of former Minister Kim Yong-hyun, the position of Chairman of the National Defense Commission is currently vacant. There is no choice but to postpone major decisions related to the KDDX business. A government official said, “Even if the position of the Minister of National Defense is vacant, the Vice Minister, the Director of the Defense Acquisition Program Administration, etc. can act as the chairman,” but added, “However, since KDDX is an important issue, it is unclear whether decisions will be made quickly in the proxy system.”
The KDDX project is a major project of the military that involves deploying a total of six next-generation Korean destroyers with a total cost of 7.8 trillion won. Initially, the lead ship manufacturing company was scheduled to be decided in the first half of this year (January to June). However, both companies participating in the competition had security issues such as leaks of confidential information, and in the process, they filed lawsuits against each other and the project was delayed. Seok Jong-geon, head of the DAPA, said during the DAPA government audit by the National Assembly National Defense Committee in October of this year, “The delay in the project will have an impact on naval operations,” adding, “Costs will rise accordingly and many companies will suffer.” An official from the defense industry said, “Due to the martial law situation, there is a vacuum in defense-related projects,” adding, “However, the KDDX project has already been delayed by six months, and the deployment period cannot be delayed any further.”
Reporter Kim Hyeong-min [email protected]
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