Is Choi Soon-sil Scandal Linked to Lockheed Martin and the THAAD Deployment to Korea?

It sounds like this opposition party lawmaker is trying to stop the THAAD deployment to South Korea by linking it to the Choi Soon-sil scandal:

Rep. An Min-suk of the main opposition party said Thursday that Choi Soon-sil’s influence even extended to Seoul’s controversial decision to deploy the U.S.-led Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (Thaad) system.

He went on to allege that the president’s close friend, who is at the center of an influence-peddling scandal known as Choi-gate, would have pocketed a large commission from the deal with Lockheed Martin, the American arms producer.

“To my knowledge, Choi met with the Lockheed Martin chairperson in June,” said An, a four-term lawmaker of the Minjoo Party of Korea and co-chair of his party’s special committee to investigate alleged manipulation of the Park Geun-hye administration’s affairs, on a radio interview with TBS.

According to An, Choi was linked to Lockheed by a foreign affairs and security field big shot in the Park administration. Seoul and Washington in July announced they will deploy Thaad in South Korea to counter Pyongyang’s missile threats.

When asked if this individual was currently in office or not, An replied, “I cannot reveal that here.” But this person was supported by Lockheed for two years during his time in the United States some six years ago, claimed An, who added, “The link between Choi Soon-sil and Lockheed Martin is being revealed.”  [Joong Ang Ilbo]

You can read more at the link, but Lockheed Martin has nothing to do with the deployment of the THAAD battery to the ROK.  The US military has already purchased the THAAD battery from Lockheed Martin, thus they have already made their profit from the sale.  Why would they give Choi a commission for deploying THAAD to Korea?  It makes no sense.  If Lockheed Martin had sold a THAAD battery to the ROK and were meeting with Choi beforehand then his complaint would make more sense.

Lockheed Martin does have plenty of other systems that it has sold and is planning to sell to the ROK:

Over the past 40 years, the U.S. Navy and Lockheed Martin have made Aegis the most capable combat system in the world. More than 100 ships and six international navies, including the Republic of Korea, rely on Aegis. In addition to Aegis, Lockheed Martin was awarded three new contracts in 2012 to support the supply chain needs for the Korean Air Force and Navy.  The Korean Air Force also is evaluating the F-35 to advance its force to the fifth-generation of fighter jets. Other programs include the T-50 trainer jet, F-16, C-130, P-3 Orion and FPS-117 radar.

At Lockheed Martin, we do more than deliver programs and capabilities.  We’re also invested where we live and work, adding fuel to the engine of South Korea’s economy.  For example, Lockheed Martin and Korean Aerospace Industries (KAI) have co-produced the F-16 for more than 20 years.  We also partnered with Samsung Data Systems to modernize Korea’s air traffic management system with the Korean Area Control Center (KACC) system and, through a partnership with Korea Telecom, successfully produced several communications satellites.  Lockheed Martin is particularly proud of its partnership with Korean Aerospace Industries in the development of the T-50 Golden Eagle and is determined to make it the premier trainer in the world.

Lockheed Martin highly values its long-standing relationship with the Republic of Korea and its Korean industry partners.  The company is committed to helping Korea meet its desire to grow its industrial base and looks forward to extending the relationship with the F-35 as the centerpiece of the next 40 years of industrial cooperation.  [Lockheed Martin]

If the story of Choi meeting the Lockheed Chairman is even true then discussing Korea’s purchase of the F-35 would make more sense. Anyway Representative An’s claims have been expanded on by the Chinese media who are linking Choi to a noted arms dealer named Linda Kim:

Lockheed Martin financially supported the child of a “core figure” in charge of South Korea’s security policy when the child was studying abroad several years ago, said Ahn, who didn’t elaborate on whether the child was staying in the United States.

The opposition lawmaker raised a possibility for the core figure to introduce Choi to the Lockheed Martin side, saying he will try to find a truth when the National Assembly launches its own investigation into the scandal next month.

Ahn has claimed a collusive link between Choi and the U.S. arms company to peddle undue influence on the South Korean government’s weapons procurement contracts.

In an emergency parliamentary session on Nov. 11, Ahn inquired Defense Minister Han Min-koo about whether the defense chief was informed of the contacts of Jeong Yoon-hoe, Choi’s ex-husband, with arms lobbyist Linda Kim and the Lockheed Martin side.

Lockheed Martin is a manufacturer of Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD), a U.S. military defense system which South Korea agreed in July with the U.S. to deploy in its soil by the end of next year.  [Xinhua]

So who is this lobbyist Linda Kim?  She is a former Korean actress who made her debut in 1970 under the name Kim Ah Ra. She went on to film cosmetic commercials and become an unsuccessful singer. She immigrated to the United States in 1979 and eventually ended up become a lobbyist linked to a sex scandal nearly 20 years ago to influence weapons procurement in the ROK:

California’s Supreme Court ruled that the company can be sued under the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act over the claims, which are denied by Lockheed and Ms Kim. The Korea Supply Company (KSC) alleges that it lost a $30m (£19m) commission after a Canadian business it represented was denied the contract due to “wrongful conduct”.