JAKARTA (Bernama): The Indonesian government is investigating allegations concerning an Indonesian engineer linked to the joint project involving the KF-21 fighter jet and the Korean Aerospace Industry (KAI).
The Foreign Ministry has instructed its embassy in Seoul to work closely with the South Korean Foreign Ministry and other relevant authorities to conduct a thorough investigation into the matter.
"The embassy has directly communicated with the Indonesian engineer and confirmed that the individual is not presently detained," the ministry spokesperson, Lalu Muhamad Iqbal, said.
He stressed that the engineer has played a crucial role in the joint project since 2016, possessing a profound understanding of the working procedures and relevant rules.
"The KF-21 project represents a strategic collaboration benefiting both Indonesia and South Korea. Both nations are dedicated to efficiently addressing any issues that may arise in this cooperation," he added.
On Friday, Yonhap news agency reported South Korea is investigating Indonesian engineers for allegedly stealing KF-21 technology currently under development.
The engineers assigned to KAI are suspected of storing KF-21 development data on a USB drive and are currently banned from leaving South Korea.
Multiple agencies, including the National Intelligence Service, are conducting a joint investigation to determine if the data contains strategic technologies.
Indonesia, a project partner, has not fulfilled its 20 per cent cost obligation for the project initiated in 2015, with payments falling nearly one trillion won behind the 8.8-trillion-won project cost. - Bernama
