LIG D&A, one of the representative names in South Korea's defense industry, has been entangled in defense corruption suspicions. An official from the Defense Acquisition Program Administration (DAPA) has already been arrested on charges of pocketing hundreds of millions of won in bribes. Prosecutors are reportedly targeting two senior executives at LIG D&A as the source of the bribes. Should it be proven that LIG D&A funneled bribes to the DAPA official, the company will face massive accountability.

While South Korea's defense industry has outwardly appeared to be sailing smoothly, large-scale defense corruption seems to have been brewing underneath. Amid the failure to win the Canadian submarine project, self-reflective voices are emerging that the booming success of K-defense was hollow on the inside. Judging by the pattern of the LIG D&A-DAPA incident, many point out that the symptoms of internal rot are fully underway.

Understandably so, LIG D&A gathered potential evaluators for a project it claims to be staking its life on and hosted a large-scale event related to that very project. Criticism is mounting over whether the company brazenly committed unfair practices akin to corruption right in the middle of a high-profile prosecution probe into defense corruption. The symptoms of rot are truly manifest, leaving the overall atmosphere surrounding K-defense unsettled in various ways.


The suspicion of corruption involving LIG D&A and DAPA is being investigated by the Suwon District Office. Summarizing reports released so far, a DAPA official identified as Mr. A was arrested on the 10th on charges of receiving illicit funds amounting to approximately 460 million won from LIG D&A between 2021 and 2023. Arrest warrants for senior LIG D&A executives Mr. B and Mr. C, who are accused of giving bribes to Mr. A, were reportedly dismissed by the court on the grounds that sufficient evidence had already been gathered.

LIG D&A has shifted the blame, claiming, "How could a company of LIG D&A's scale ever give hundreds of millions of won in bribes to a DAPA official?" and calling it "sabotage by a competitor." However, a source well-versed in the investigation specifically detailed the case to the reporter, stating, "An affiliate operated by a relative of the DAPA official is suspected of serving as the conduit for the bribes, and it is presumed that the funds were transferred through the relative's accounts." Another source said, "I understand that the evidence of the bribe delivery secured by prosecutors consists of messenger chats between the two LIG D&A executives." It is quite unusual for high-ranking defense industry figures to take center stage as main actors in what has rarely been seen in past defense corruption cases.

The acquisition of two projects has been cited as the supposed quid pro quo for the bribes: the electronic warfare development project and the Link-22 tactical data link system development project for Changbogo-II submarines. Prosecutors appear to believe that the DAPA official in charge provided various favors to LIG D&A from the core electronic warfare technology research phase all the way to the final airframe development stage. Circumstantial evidence has also reportedly been confirmed that the DAPA side engaged in corruption regarding the Changbogo-II Link-22 project, such as proactively providing project-related information to LIG D&A and giving high scores in evaluations.

LIG D&A has recently enjoyed an unbroken winning streak in domestic projects, writing an undefeated myth across six or seven consecutive biddings. Two of those projects have now been flagged as subjects of defense corruption. Depending on the trajectory of the investigation and trials, the company could face sanctions including the forfeiture of project qualifications or, more severely, a three-year ban from participating in government projects. It must also stomach the disgrace of having achieved its winning streak through corruption and bear the stigma of being labeled a defense corruption firm. It is a life-or-death crisis from LIG D&A's perspective.

Caught right at the center of the defense corruption investigation, LIG D&A should have exercised more self-restraint than ever. Instead, it held an event worth taking a close look at. On the 15th, LIG D&A hosted an aviation guided weapon and avionics advancement seminar at the OSCO Convention Center in Cheongju, North Chungcheong Province. About 350 public-private-military defense experts attended, including Park Tae-shik, head of the Missile System Business Division at LIG D&A, alongside officials from the Ministry of National Defense, DAPA, and the Air Force.

What caught the attention of defense experts was the "Success Strategy for Long-Range Air-to-Air Guided Missile System Development" presented by LIG D&A that day. It was a detailed report on how LIG D&A plans to challenge the long-range air-to-air guided missile system development project, for which an official project notice is scheduled to be issued within this year. Having publicly declared that its corporate survival depends on the long-range air-to-air project, LIG D&A gathered personnel from the Ministry of National Defense, DAPA, and the Air Force—who hold the power of life and death over the project—treated them to meals, handed out bundles of souvenirs, and aggressively pitched its strategy for the long-range air-to-air project.

Expert K, a university professor specializing in defense, voiced sharp criticism, saying, "Both the side that recklessly issued the invitations and the side that scurried over to attend are equally thoughtless." Industry insider J pointed out, "It feels like witnessing the prelude to defense corruption, as players and referees shared deep discussions about an upcoming big game in a warm, quiet setting where entertainment and gifts were exchanged." On one side, scathing rebukes are emerging that "authorities from the Ministry of National Defense, the Air Force, and DAPA who attended the event should be entirely excluded from every stage of the long-range air-to-air guided missile system development project," while on the other side, realistic lamentations are heard arguing that "the project cannot run without them."

The attitude of LIG D&A in holding the event despite widespread controversy, just as the shackles of a prosecutorial investigation that could shake the entire company are tightening rapidly, is hard to comprehend. LIG D&A may have been temporarily blinded and puffed up by the defense boom, leading to a lapse in discipline and vigilance. While the general atmosphere across the K-defense sector seems somewhat similar, LIG D&A's behavior appears particularly excessive.