Just like in the United States, defense companies often collude with military officers to win contracts and sometimes not in an ethical manner. What I found most interesting about this article is that the ROK developed liquid body armor that was bomb resistant which I have never heard of before:
Body armor and a protective panel that were penetrated by bullets, shown during a Board of Audit and Inspection in Seoul‘s Jongno district, announcing the findings of a review of the Ministry of National Defense, Defense Acquisition Program Administration (DAPA), and three other institutions for suspected improprieties in the acquisition of body armor and other military support supplies, Mar. 23. (Yonhap News)
Lobbying by a defense company resulted in it being granted general monopoly rights by the Ministry of National Defense on a body armor project worth up to 270 billion won (US$231 million) – even after the ministry had developed its own state-of-the-art body armor at a cost of 2.8 billion won (US$2.4 million).Samyang Chemical, parent group of Samyang Chemtec – which came under fire last year for its production of penetrable body armor – hired 29 reserve soldiers over six years to work as lobbyists for affiliates. Seven were found to be retired generals employed under false pretenses in defiance of ethics regulations against the employment of former senior officials. [Hankyoreh]
You can read much more about this scandal at the link and the long and sometimes unethical ties to the military Samyang Chemical has.
South Korea has set 2016 national budget at 386.7 trillion won, up 3 percent from 375.4 trillion won in 2015. The defense budget was increased by 4 percent to improve the country’s military readiness. [Yonhap]
Members of the Ship Salvage Unit, special forces under the Navy in charge of rescue missions during maritime accidents, jump into the sea in a winter exercise at Changwon, 398 kilometers southeast of Seoul, on Jan. 11, 2016. (Yonhap)
I am sure the ROK military has thoroughly thought through and rehearsed their plans in response to whatever the next provocation North Korea has planned:
Tensions are running high near the inter-Korean border Friday afternoon as South Korea’s military resumed loudspeaker propaganda broadcasts toward North Korea in the demilitarized zone(DMZ).
To deal with possible North Korean attacks on South Korean speaker facilities, the South’s military has issued its highest level of vigilance at eleven areas at the forefront, where the psychological warfare facilities have been installed.
A defense official said Friday that the military will thoroughly carry out propaganda broadcast operations, and it will respond sternly and accordingly if the North’s military engages in artillery provocations against the loudspeakers or nearby areas.
In case the North attacks, the South’s military is said to be planning to retaliate with fire power that is three to four times stronger than the North’s. [KBS World Radio]
Could you just imagine the whinging in the US if a mandatory service requirement was mandated and conscripts were making less than $200 a month?:
Salaries for conscripted soldiers will go up 15 percent on-year in 2016, with sergeants earning 197,100 won a month, according to the government.
All able-bodied South Korean men must carry out compulsory military service for about two years in a country that faces North Korea across a heavily fortified border. (Korea Herald)
Instead of complaining about how much money the ROK government spent in 2014 to upgrade its defense capabilities maybe the Hankyoreh should instead complain about how the North Koreans are the ones necessitating defense upgrades in the first place:
Last year, South Korea was the world’s largest importer of weapons, a US government report shows, which is an inevitable result of South Korean President Park Geun-hye’s emphasis on providing a military deterrent to North Korea. This prompts the criticism that, ultimately, the only winners of this policy are the world’s arms manufacturers.
On Dec. 26, the New York Times reported that South Korea had signed arms contracts worth US$7.8 billion in 2014 – more than any other country – citing a report by the US Congressional Research Service (CRS).Around US$7 billion of the weapons purchased by South Korea, which include unmanned surveillance aircraft and transport helicopters, are of American manufacture, the newspaper reported.After South Korea, Iraq purchased US$7.3 billion worth of weapons to strengthen its military after the withdrawal of US forces. Brazil was ranked 3rd on the list, purchasing US$6.5 billion of weaponry, including aircraft made in Sweden. [Hankyoreh]
As South Korea begins to establish a more robust space program that will include multiple defense satellites, being able to monitor and defend against threats to those assets as well as providing missile warning is important:
Republic of Korea air force Lt. Col. Kim Jae Don works on a combined joint task force air battle management plan March 10, 2015, in the Republic of Korea Air and Space Operation Center during at Osan Air Base, Republic of Korea. On Wednesday, South Korean officials asked for American assistance in expanding its space-defense program. SHAWN NICKEL/U.S. AIR FORCE
South Korea wants help from the United States as it tries to develop its nascent space-defense program, Defense Ministry officials said Wednesday.
The nation’s space plans aren’t targeting a particular country or threat, ministry officials told Stars and Stripes. However, North Korea’s continuing research on long-range ballistic missiles represents a threat that theoretically could be defeated using space-based technology.
Seoul will be “building up the foundation to carry out space warfare by creating and conducting a high-level U.S.-South Korea defense space development [tabletop exercise] regularly,” according to a recent Defense Ministry statement.
The Defense Ministry and the Pentagon will also share information on space development, a ministry spokesman said Wednesday.
South Korea established its first Space Operations Center in July, when it also announced plans to build a national space surveillance system by 2030. Last week, defense officials said the new space center successfully tracked a falling Russian satellite, with assistance from the U.S. Strategic Command.
The pact with South Korea follows similar actions taken between the U.S. and Japan to bolster cooperation earlier this year. In April, Tokyo and Washington revised 1997 bilateral defense guidelines to include a section on space, calling for the nations to “share information to address emerging threats against space systems.” [Stars & Stripes]
South Korean golfer Bae Sang-moon smiles as he prepares to report for military duty in Chuncheon, Gangwon Province, on Nov. 17, 2015. All able-bodied South Korean men are required to fulfill military draft, and Bae was charged in February with violating the law for not returning after his overseas travel permit ran out. The court in July refused to extend the permit. (Yonhap)
Members of South Korea’s underwater demolition team (UDT) show martial art moves during a demonstration marking the UDT’s 60th anniversary in Changwon, South Gyeongsang Province, on Nov. 5, 2015. (Yonhap)
