[Anchor]

As we reported in a series of stories last month, the Korea Forest Service's project to introduce extra-large firefighting helicopters has been rocky from the start. The reports revealed that the first helicopter was not a new model, but a rebuilt decades-old military aircraft, and its delivery had been delayed to next year. Now, it has been confirmed that even the second helicopter, scheduled to arrive next month, will miss its delivery deadline.

Reporter Jang Min-seong has this exclusive report.

[Reporter]

This is the second extra-large firefighting helicopter contracted by the Korea Forest Service with an American company.

It is a 1967 military helicopter formerly used by the U.S. military that has been rebuilt for firefighting purposes, with a price tag of 44.7 billion won for a single unit.

Originally scheduled to be brought in by November 30, it was confirmed that the company notified the Korea Forest Service last month that it would not be able to meet the delivery deadline.

The company wants to push back the delivery by seven months to the end of June next year.

Reports indicate the reasons are the failure to obtain safety certifications from the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration and South Korea's Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport—which are mandatory conditions—as well as difficulties in meeting the manufacturing schedule.

The problem is that this does not end with just the second helicopter.

The first helicopter is supposed to arrive by June next year, and the third by December next year, but there is no guarantee that the certification process, which typically takes several years, will be completed by then.

With the delivery of the first helicopter already delayed by a year and a half, and now the second one also delayed, the timely introduction of the remaining five helicopters has become uncertain.

Despite this situation, the Korea Forest Service has failed to secure even basic information to verify the company's contract-fulfillment capabilities, such as its financial status or actual manufacturing progress.

Without even knowing how much further the certification will be delayed, it is effectively relying solely on notifications provided by the company.

[Kim Man-ju / Head of the Korea Forest Aviation Headquarters (in August): Under the current circumstances, if you (the U.S. company) fail, what we notified you of is strictly liquidated damages. If you fail to deliver the second helicopter...]

The Korea Forest Service stated that it has sent a letter urging the company to fulfill the contract, and that if the contract terms are not met, it will review not only recovering the deposit but also terminating the contract.

However, criticism is mounting that lax contract management has invited trouble for the project.

(Video reporting: Seol Min-hwan, Video editing: Kim Jong-tae, Design: Choi Jae-young, Kim Min-young, Byun Da-young, VJ: Kim Jun-ho, Data provided by the office of Seo Sam-seok, Chairperson of the National Assembly Agriculture, Food, Rural Affairs, Oceans and Fisheries Committee, Video courtesy of Columbia Helicopters YouTube, YouTube and SNS sources: Jarasum Yeonggu, Jirisan Sancheong Salari, Bicha-wa-Naltteul, Film Master)