Researchers cast doubts over homegrown technology in submarine project

SEOUL, May 17 (Yonhap) -- State researchers have raised doubts on whether homegrown technology is fit for the nation's multi-billion dollar project to build up its submarine arsenal by 2020, a report said Tuesday.
South Korea plans to build three 3,000-ton attack submarines with its own technology under the project code-named "KSS-III," but the report by the Korea Institute for Defense Analysis (KIDA) suggested that Korean engineers' designs and engineering capabilities for the large-sized submarines are questionable.
Also, South Korea is short of suppliers to develop parts for the submarines, the KIDA report said.
South Korea has built 1,200-ton and 1,800-ton submarines based on foreign technologies and parts, so there is a need to cooperate with foreign firms to build the 3,000-ton submarines, it said.
KIDA submitted the report to the Defense Ministry and the Defense Acquisition Program Administration (DAPA), which is in charge of arms procurement.
Hyundai Heavy Industries and Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering, two of the world's largest shipbuilders, are jointly developing the 3,000-ton submarines that cost 2.7 trillion won (US$2.48 billion) in total.
Chung Jae-woon, a DAPA spokesman, defended the project to build submarines with homegrown technology.
"The reason we push to manufacture the next-generation submarines with indigenous technology is that there is a limit in developing the submarines through a cooperation with foreign firms," Chung said.
"As for some parts, however, we are adopting foreign designs and components for manufacturing the KSS-III submarines," he said.