Korea-Indonesia Summit Slated for July 28 in Seoul
Summit talks between South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol and Indonesian President Joko Widodo is scheduled for July 28 in Seoul. The talks are likely to include Indonesia’s non-payment related to the KF-21 fighter jet.
The two governments agreed in 2016 to co-develop a fighter jet. According to the agreement, the total project cost is 8.1 trillion won and Indonesia is supposed to pay 20 percent of it over 10 years in exchange for one KF-21 and technology data for producing 48 fighter jets in Indonesia.
The non-payment started in 2017. Specifically, Indonesia has failed to pay 800 billion won so far, its payment so far is 227.2 billion won, and South Korea has yet to receive 1.37 trillion won in the project as a whole.
Last year, the two governments agreed on payment in kind for 30 percent of the total. This part is likely to be natural resources such as palm oil. Working-level talks are currently underway regarding how to change the agreement.