▲ On the 3rd day (3rd), the position data related to the reduction of the cost of improving defense capabilities presented to the Defense Agency
On the same day (3rd) when the budget for next year was confirmed, the DAPA issued a position material titled 'Relating to the results of the National Assembly review of the 2022 defense capability improvement budget'.
"We deeply accept the fact that the cost of improving defense capabilities has been reduced by an unprecedented 644.8 billion won, and we express our apologies to the military personnel who spare no effort day and night for national defense," the DAPA said in a statement.
It was interpreted as a statement of reflection by the DAPA for the largest reduction in the cost of improving defense capabilities in history.
It's not like a radio station.
It is the DAPA that gave the name of the Korean fighter KF-21 No. 2 as the head of the DAPA project, regardless of when criticism of the record reduction in defense capability improvement costs was boiling.
It is the Bangsa agency that gave an explanation without any light of reflection to the question about the reason for the budget reduction.
It is the Bangsa Agency that has been boasting here and there as if it was a splendid achievement after signing a pre-modern contract to receive a significant portion of the KF-21 joint development contribution from Indonesia as a local specialty.
So, this apology for the budget cut by the DAPA seems no different from the crocodile tears that politicians shed in front of the camera.
Playing 'Gwangseon Jeong' in the cold wave of budget cuts
Before the budget for next year was finalized at the National Assembly plenary session the day before, the outline of the cost reduction for defense capability improvement was drawn at the National Assembly National Defense Committee plenary meeting on the 16th of last month.
The amount that the National Defense Commission cut out of the government's defense capability improvement budget was 612.2 billion won.
There were many people who were surprised that it was the biggest cut since the agency opened, and there were many voices blaming the agency for handling work in this way.
Normal public officials are self-respecting and introspective in such an atmosphere.
However, on the 22nd of last month, six days after the National Defense Commission cutback disaster, Kang Eun-ho, director of the DAPA, ordered the KF-21 2 to be named after Jeong Gwang-seon, the head of the Korean Air Fighter Project Group, at an expanded executive meeting.
In the midst of record-breaking defense budget cuts, unprecedented in the history of fighter development, it was a journey of giving the fighter the name of a living civil servant.
The purpose is to remember the devoted efforts of General Manager Jeong Gwang-seon, but it is difficult to find anyone who agrees with this not only in Korea Aerospace Industries, the main player in the development of the KF-21, KAI, and in the Air Force, the owner of the KF-21.
The DAPA, which understood the situation only after the relevant report was published, withdrew the plan to promote the 'Jung Gwang-seon flag' on the 1st and said, "After reviewing related regulations and cases, it was decided to present the model aircraft with a name engraved on it rather than giving a name to the prototype. did," he said.
Bangbang Agency for self-praise rather than reflection
On the 22nd, the reporter asked the DAPA about the specific reasons for 8 items among the reduced defense power improvement costs. The DAPA requested that it be reflected in the article while lengthily explaining it as an institutional limitation. There was no self-consciousness that the DAPA was at fault or responsible for the reduction.
The result of the renegotiation of the KF-21 Indonesian joint development contribution is also a subject of serious reflection, and the DAPA is self-congratulatory.
The DAPA could not even decide how much interest it would charge on the 800 billion won unpaid contribution in the renegotiation, and decided to receive 30% of the 1.6 trillion won contribution in kind, such as palm oil.
Both are time bombs.
In particular, payment in kind is likely to have a negative impact on other exports from time to time.
Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering, which signed a contract with Indonesia to build three submarines and has not received a down payment for over two years, is already worried that it will receive the down payment in kind.
Despite this situation, on the 11th of last month, Kang Eun-ho, director of the DAPA, said that he was "120% satisfied" with the outcome of the renegotiation.
Jeong Gwang-seon, the head of the Korean Fighter Project Group, who almost became the name of the KF-21, said to reporters a few days later, "Director Kang Eun-ho worked hard since he was deputy commander, so there was a quick result."
Even now, the DAPA maintains a self-congratulatory stance on the outcome of the renegotiation of the KF-21 contribution between Korea and Indonesia.
Perhaps that's why the DAPA's reflection on the reduction of the defense capability improvement cost cannot be read sincerely.
Considering the discussion on the name of the 'KF-21 Jeong Gwang-seon flag' amid the suffocating winds blowing, we can't help but doubt the DAPA's original idea of reducing the cost of defense improvement.
The statement of reflection from the DAPA issued in the name of 'Relating to the results of the National Assembly review of the 2022 defense capability improvement budget' seems to be fake.