“Capitalizing on domestic technology and infrastructure, South Korea will localize key equipment and components. We will develop fighter jets so that we can upgrade their capability by ourselves,” said Chang at a parliamentary meeting.

Lee Bum-seok, state-run Agency for Defense Development’s senior researcher for radar technology, echoed the remarks and said that Seoul was capable of developing four of KF-X’s core technologies — active electronically scanned array radar, infra-red search and track, electronics optics targeting and radio frequency jamming. He said the ADD was also seeking technical cooperation with Britain, Israel and Sweden to minimize risks.

The KF-X project hit a snag this year as the U.S. Department of State denied in April export licenses for the four technologies U.S. defense giant Lockheed Martin offered for the KF-X project. Washington cited that the transfer would violate International Traffic in Arms Regulations.

While the military agency assured that the project could proceed without the intended transfer, critics have slammed the government for hiding the low possibility of the U.S. technology handover from the start, and also resorting to what they called a farfetched plan.

In an unusual bipartisan move, the lawmakers of the Defense Committee said that the 18 trillion-won ($15.9 billion) procurement program needed stricter public scrutiny to avoid wasting taxpayers’ money. They also called for a parliamentary inspection into the KF-X program and held high-profile defense officials accountable for the tech transfer failure.

Rep. Yoo Seung-min of the ruling Saenuri Party urged the lawmakers to join in passing the motion for the Board of Audit and Inspection to inspect the KF-X program, a move that main opposition New Politics Alliance for Democracy Rep. Yoon Hoo-duk supported immediately.

Saenuri Rep. Chung Doo-won, the chairman of the committee, repeated his attack against presidential National Security Office chief Kim Kwan-jin, saying Kim should be held accountable for the project gone awry.

On Thursday, Chung said that he had sent a letter to President Park Geun-hye, calling for an overhaul of the faltering KF-X program demanding a public debate on the fighter jet procurement. The parliamentary meeting meanwhile approved the relevant defense budget later in the day.

Meanwhile, the Defense Committee on Friday approved 67-billion-won ($58.5 million) 2015 budget for the KF-X project. The budget is subject to further approval of parliamentary budget committee.

By Yeo Jun-suk (jasonyeo@heraldcorp.com)