Learning lessons from the leak attempt at KAI

Without establishing a sophisticated detection system, Korea cannot become a genuine power in technology.

Twenty-one days have passed since it was discovered that an Indonesian engineer dispatched to Korea Aerospace Industries (KAI) — Korea’s leading defense company — had attempted to leak sensitive data related to the development of KF-21 Boramae, Korea’s first indigenous supersonic fighter jet, to his home country. The National Intelligence Service and the Defense Counterintelligence Command are still investigating the case. But they could not finish their investigation because the USB the Indonesian engineer tried to siphon to the country contained as many as 6,600 digital files, and some of them required passwords to unlock. The episode suggests that the attempted leakage was not a simple mistake but a methodical attempt to steal the technology from KAI.

After its successful development of T-50 Golden Eagle, Korea’s first homegrown supersonic aircraft for pilot training, KAI brought in Indonesia to jointly develop KF-21 under the condition that the Southeast Asian country covers 20 percent of the initial development cost — which amounts to 1.7 trillion won ($1.28 billion) — in return for the transfer of a prototype and various technologies involved to Indonesia.

Since its first successful flight in July 2022, followed by other night flight and weapons system tests, KF-21 has reached the final phase of development. But Indonesia has not yet paid the money it agreed to pay. In the worst possible case, the technology KAI worked on for decades could have leaked to a foreign country. KAI explained that it discovered the USB during a security check. We hope it is true.

But the problem is that such technology leaks are not confined to KAI. There are cases where even Korean employees were caught while trying to divert sensitive technology related to the chipmaking process to other countries. There is no guarantee that such leaks all failed in the past.

We are living in the era of an information war. Companies spend an astronomical amount of money to develop competitive, cutting-edge technology. A major target is military technology, a consternation of all sophisticated technologies. That’s why intelligence authorities always keep a close watch on any possible technology leaks in private companies.

KAI and other defense companies must learn lessons from the recent case. As the primary responsibility for safeguarding technology falls on individual companies, KAI must deeply reflect on how a single engineer could have access to such a broad scope of technology. Without establishing a sophisticated detection system, Korea cannot become a genuine power in technology.