Jakarta. The Indonesian government said Thursday the KF-21 jet deal with South Korea -- which had just witnessed a shift in presidency -- remained on the table.

Lee Jae-myung officially assumed power early this month, succeeding the impeached leader Yoon Suk Yeol. Lee’s appointment sparked questions on how Indonesia would navigate its bilateral relations. This includes the future of the KF-21 program, which costs 8.1 trillion won or nearly $6 billion.

Launched in 2015, the KF-21 is a fighter jet development project spearheaded by Korea Aerospace Industries (KAI). Indonesia is a junior partner, but has missed payment deadlines and even had its engineers accused of data theft.

Foreign Affairs Ministry’s spokesman Rolliansyah “Roy” Soemirat responded to media questions on whether Indonesia considered South Korea's recent power shift a chance to restart its relations with Seoul. According to Roy, Indonesia is open to carrying on any existing partnerships. But at the same time, Jakarta is willing to explore new things with Lee's South Korea. 

“We will regularly review our partnership. Bilateral cooperation must benefit both sides. So if one side no longer feels any benefit or if they wish to redirect the [existing] cooperation, we will decide on it together,” Roy told a press briefing in Jakarta.

“So on questions in regards to the KF-21 and all sorts, for sure, the deal regarding its future is still on the table. … We will have to wait and check on whether both governments have the appetite to see the benefits that the partnership can bring.” Roy said.

Media reports showed that South Korea had agreed to cut Indonesia’s financial commitment, although this would lead to a reduced level of technology transfer to Southeast Asia's largest economy.

Indonesia initially agreed to cover 1.6 trillion won or 20 percent of the 8.1 trillion-won project. However, Seoul has agreed to lower Jakarta’s financial commitment to just 600 billion won after the latter was unable to make its payments. Under the original KF-21 deal, Indonesia will get one prototype and technology transfer to locally manufacture 48 jets.  

The project is not only facing financial pressure, but data theft allegations have set another obstacle in the ambitious partnership. In early 2024, news broke out that Indonesian engineers from the state-run aircraft maker Dirgantara Indonesia were accused of stealing classified data on the KF-21 technology.

Dirgantara Indonesia has been working with KAI to develop these military aircraft. However, all five Indonesian engineers accused of data theft were acquitted and suspended from prosecution. The Foreign Affairs Ministry recently reported that all five individuals had returned to Indonesia.

The fate of the KF-21 recently came to the spotlight after Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan announced Wednesday that Indonesia had agreed to buy 48 Turkish KAAN fighter jets.

Defense Ministry’s spokesman Frega Ferdinand Wenas Inkiriwang claimed that what both sides had signed was not the final deal, but a memorandum of understanding (MoU). In other words, the number of units that Indonesia would purchase was still subject to change.

“What we have signed with Turkey is not a purchase contract," Frega told the press on the sidelines of the 2024 Indo Defence Forum & Expo in Jakarta on Thursday.

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