[Audit Spotlight] Hwang Myeongseon Uncovers the Scheme Behind 'Suicide Drone' Procurement

Pressed for answers on the process of introducing suicide drones by the end of 2024

Suspicious signs in weapons procurement and budget reallocations

At the Ministry of National Defense’s parliamentary audit on October 7, which focused on issues including North Korean troops laying mines in the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ), lawmakers addressed the irregular introduction of “suicide drones.” Assemblyman Hwang Myeongseon of the Democratic Party of Korea examined problems that had emerged during the weapons procurement process, seeking to uncover the larger forces behind them.

At the National Assembly National Defense Committee’s audit at the Ministry of National Defense that day, Assemblyman Hwang began with procedural remarks requesting documents and went on to question officials during the main and supplementary sessions, probing the truth behind the procurement process for “suicide drones,” which had been targeted for introduction by the end of 2024. Suicide drones are a type of weapons system classified as “aircraft ammunition” under the Military Supplies Management Directive. Special forces units had also previously introduced suicide drones as weapons systems. However, in a January 2024 briefing on efforts to secure capabilities for the Drone Operations Command, which former President Yoon Suk Yeol received, the drones were classified as a “force support system.” Assemblyman Hwang suspected that the decision was “a backdoor scheme to bypass deliberation by the Defense Acquisition Program Promotion Committee and easily spend the Ministry of National Defense’s force operation budget.” He said, “Because they pushed ahead recklessly with a project for which no budget had been allocated for 2024, they increased the budget for training ammunition for units directly under the Ministry of National Defense by 3,100%,” adding, “They took 8.5 billion won from the special equipment maintenance budget and reallocated it internally to the training ammunition budget.”

Hwang Myeongseon, a Democratic Party of Korea committee member. Reporter Kim Hyunmin.

Signs of the reckless procurement process appeared in numerous places. Assemblyman Hwang said, “In February 2024, the Drone Operations Command proposed that Type 1 suicide drones needed performance upgrades,” adding, “The Ministry of National Defense decided that ‘if we upgrade their performance, we won’t be able to secure them by the end of 2024, so let’s proceed for now and pursue the upgrades later.’” He also said that the decision to purchase Polish-made Type 2 suicide drones was made solely at a Ministry of National Defense policy meeting, bypassing deliberation and approval by the Defense Acquisition Program Promotion Committee under the Defense Acquisition Program Administration, consultation with the Ministry of Economy and Finance, and prior consultation with the Board of Audit and Inspection.

Assemblyman Hwang focused on the insistence on introducing the drones by the end of 2024 and raised concerns that they could have been misused during the December 3 Emergency Martial Law. He said, “If suicide drones capable of directly striking targets, not just conducting reconnaissance, had been deployed, it could have led to a serious security crisis exceeding the level of a localized conflict.”

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.