By Lee Tae-hoon
A lawmaker said Wednesday that the Korea Aerospace Industries (KAI) will be awarded a chopper deal worth 6 trillion won ($5.292 billion), the country’s biggest arms deal ever for a local company, despite its failure to fully address safety concerns.
The Defense Acquisition Program Administration (DAPA) plans to place the multibillion-dollar-order in December this year, according to Rep. Shin Hak-yong of the main opposition Democratic United Party.
“DAPA must not make a hasty decision. It should consider delaying the order until all necessary tests and evaluations are completed,” the three term lawmaker said.
He stressed that the incumbent administration is pushing to conclude more than $15 billion worth of arms purchase deals by the end of the year without proper assessment of the projects.