I doubt Raytheon and Lockheed are selling any military equipment to China so it seems these sanctions are just symbolic:
China said Monday it will impose new sanctions on U.S. defense contractors Raytheon Technologies and Lockheed Martin due to their arms sales to Taiwan, stepping up a feud with Washington over security and Beijing’s strategic ambitions.
Foreign Ministry spokesperson Wang Wenbin announced the move at a daily press briefing, citing a newly passed Anti-Foreign Sanctions Law that took effect in 2021. It was in response to a $100 million deal approved by the U.S. for maintenance of Taiwan’s missile defense systems by the two companies.
“China once again urges the U.S. government and relevant parties to . . . stop arms sales to Taiwan and sever military ties with Taiwan,” Wang said.
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:
An Min-suk
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:
South Korean President Park Geun-hye meets Lockheed Martin CEO and President Marillyn Hewson during the president’s visit to Washington, DC. Photo Courtesy U.S. Chamber
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:
The world’s biggest military business faces an embarrassing legal row following claims that an agent called Linda Kim, a former dancer and singer, bribed top soldiers and offered sexual favours to the country’s defence minister.
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”.
In 1996 a Lockheed subsidiary won a $225m deal to supply an aircraft radar system, one of several deals it struck with the South Korean government.
Ms Kim, 52, who has retired from military broking and lives in Los Angeles, said through a lawyer that she “strongly denied every allegation” in the complaint. She previously served a short prison sentence after being convicted of using similar techniques of persuasion to win deals for other clients.
South Korea’s former defence minister, Lee Yang Ho, admitted to having “an inappropriate relationship” with Ms Kim after love letters she sent to him appeared in a newspaper. He denied that this relationship had influenced his decisions about awarding contracts. [The Telegraph]
If things could not get any weirder, Linda Kim has also been linked to a bizarre Hollywood double murder involving Playboy playmates, a Wall Street ponzi scheme and stolen jewels that were replicas of the ones Julia Roberts wore in the movie Pretty Woman.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n2pzkenbhIA
Linda Kim is still very active in arm dealing as the Joong Ang Ilbo previously reported her role in lobbying for South Korea to purchase Lockheed Martin’s Joint Strike Fighter which she was successful at winning. Interestingly enough the Chinese media is reporting that Linda Kim is currently in jail for drug charges:
Choi had reportedly maintained an acquaintance with the arms lobbyist at least since 2000. The lobbyist has been detained in October for drug-administering charges.
Asking to see Linda Kim at the detention center has recently been banned, said the Minjoo Party lawmaker who described the arms lobbyist as one of “key men” that can tell the truth about the collusive link. [Xinhua]
She is apparently mired in gambling debt as well according to the Donga Ilbo. The more I read about Linda Kim the more I think her and Choi Soon-sil probably deserve a jail cell together.
I think this article makes a good point that the more the Chinese government complains, the more it creates a selling point for Lockheed Martin to other potential customers about how effective the THAAD system is:
According to The Wall Street Journal, 74% of South Koreans supported the installation of the THAAD missile shield, but there is opposition primarily focussed on strained relations with China, the South’s largest economic partner.
Other opposition is coming from areas where the THAAD system will be deployed and environmentalists concerned about health hazards and other environmental impacts.
Lockheed, however, may eventually benefit from North Korea’s latest launches if the South increases the size of its order or even if it can parlay China’s fears about the system into a selling point to other customers. [24/7 Wall Street]
Along with the recent purchase of 40 F-35’s from Lockheed the Koreans are also partnering with them to develop their own domestic fighter:
South Korea on Monday selected Korea Aerospace Industries (KAI) and partner Lockheed Martin for a multi-billion-dollar contract to develop 120 “indigenous” fighter jets to replace Seoul’s ageing fleet.
The bid from KAI and the US aerospace giant, which is subject to a screening process before being officially approved, was always seen as the favourite for the 8.6 trillion won ($7.8 billion) deal over a rival bid by civilian carrier Korean Air (KAL) teamed with Airbus.
The Defence Ministry also approved a separate $1.28 billion deal to buy Patriot PAC-3 missiles and upgrade its air defence system aimed at intercepting North Korean ballistic missiles.
The KF-X fighter project is designed to develop and produce 120 fighter jets of a new, indigenous type to replace South Korea’s ageing fleet of F-4s and F-5s. [AFP]
