South Korea encountered malfunctions of American F-35s and began decommissioning these fighters.

It is reported that on January 4, 2022, one of the aircraft landed "on its belly" at the Sosan airbase. The runway was covered with a special fire-resistant foam to reduce friction. As a result of the investigation, it was determined that the incident was caused by a bird strike, as a result of which the fighter's electronic systems failed, including the landing gear release system. This was the first known F-35A incident outside the United States.

Despite initial statements about "minimal damage" to the aircraft, the country's Air Force eventually decided to write off the car.

Shin Won-sin, a member of the national parliament's defense committee, noted that from January 2021 to June 2022, there were 234 malfunctions that led to the cancellation of flights, and 62 cases of "missing a specific mission." The reason for this, in his opinion, is the lack of spare parts. Failures occur twice as often as in the F-4 and F-5 fighters of the Vietnam War.

At the same time, despite emerging problems, the official procedure for the purchase of an additional 20 fighters of this type for $ 2,85 billion was launched in March with delivery before 2028. It was originally planned to purchase a modification of the F-35B with the possibility of vertical takeoff, but, apparently, plans have changed.