DAPA expands corruption report system

The state military acquisition agency will expand a corruption report system to allow non-employees to file a report, officials said.The Defense Acquisition Program Administration said that it will allow ordinary citizens to report corruption cases through the internet starting from Wednesday. It al

Oct. 11, 2011

Seoul seeks greater authority on crimes by U.S. servicemen

South Korea and the U.S. will discuss ways to strengthen Seoul’s preliminary investigation authority to better deal with cases involving U.S. military personnel during their meeting next month, a Foreign Ministry official said Monday.The move comes as the public anger here has been rising in the wak

Oct. 10, 2011

New U.S. Navy chief visits S. Korea

Adm. Jonathan W. Greenert, the new U.S. chief of naval operations, is in Seoul this week for talks with local military officials, a military source here said Wednesday."Adm. Greenert paid a courtesy call to Defense Minister Kim Kwang-jin and Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Han Min-koo today," the sou

Oct. 5, 2011

S. Korea to hold live-fire drills off western frontline islands

South Korea’s military will conduct maritime live-fire drills off Bangnyeong and Yeonpyeong Islands near the tense inter-Korean sea border on Thursday as part of the regular training schedule, the Joint Chiefs of Staff said Wednesday.The command dedicated to protecting the northwestern border island

Oct. 5, 2011

Seoul to hold biennial air defense exhibition

South Korea will hold an international air defense exhibition this month to boost technological exchanges with foreign firms and defense exports.Seoul International Aerospace & Defense Exhibition 2011 will be held from Oct. 18-23 at Seoul Airport in Seongnam, Gyeonggi Province, featuring the world’s

Oct. 5, 2011

Military to purchase 40 helicopters to support amphibious landing

The military will purchase 40 new helicopters by 2023 to strengthen the Marine Corps’ amphibious landing capabilities, a ruling party lawmaker said Tuesday.Citing a parliamentary inspection report from the military, Rep. Chung Mi-kyung of the Grand National Party said that the helicopters specializi

Oct. 4, 2011

Korea to give disused destroyer to Colombia

South Korea is seeking to give its decommissioned destroyer to Colombia for free to help boost its arms exports to the South American region, a government source said Sunday.“We are thinking of handing over to Colombia the 1,200-ton destroyer Gunsan, which was decommissioned on Sept. 29, in the firs

Oct. 3, 2011

Precision weapons would last 3-10 days

The Air Force’s current stockpile of precision-guided weapons would run out in just three to 10 days should a war break out, a ruling party lawmaker has recently said, spawning concerns over the country’s capacity for wartime aerial operations.Its stock of weapons including GBU-24 bunker busters, Ko

Oct. 3, 2011

‘Act first’ order’s limits exposed

Critics say field commanders have limited authority to handle emergenciesThe military directive by Defense Minister Kim Kwan-jin to “act first and report later” is not applicable to air-to-ground operations, officials said Sunday, triggering concerns that this could limit the Air Force’s ability to

Oct. 2, 2011

Physical altercations highest in Navy: report

Navy soldiers have been more exposed to physical abuse compared to other military forces over the past several years, a lawmaker said Friday, calling for measures to curb violence in the barracks.A total of 4,670 cases of violence took place in the Navy between January 2005 and June this year, Rep.

Sept. 30, 2011

Military needs more sailors, pilots

Harassment and abuse  by senior officers still  rampant: lawmakersThere will be a serious shortage of military sailors and pilots as the country is stepping up efforts to secure scores of new high-tech warships and aircraft to enhance national defense, a lawmaker claimed Thursday

Sept. 29, 2011

Seoul denies it played down U.S. base relocation cost

Suspicion has been raised the Defense Ministry underreported the amount of money it would have to pay for a U.S. military relocation project in an apparent move to circumvent public criticism.A diplomatic cable revealed by WikiLeaks indicated that the ministry of the former Roh Moo-hyun government i

Sept. 28, 2011

Defense budget up to raise combat readiness

No money set aside for project to purchase presidential airplaneThe government has earmarked some 33.15 trillion won ($28.13 billion) for the 2012 defense budget, up 5.6 percent from this year’s budget, aiming to make the military “truly combat-ready,” officials said Tuesday.It seeks to set aside 23

Sept. 27, 2011

Soldiers indicted over national security law violation double: report

More than twice as many South Korean soldiers and officers have been charged with violating the anti-communist National Security Law in the current conservative government than in the previous liberal administration, a report showed Tuesday.The law strictly prohibits distribution of publications pra

Sept. 27, 2011

DAPA continues to sign contracts with suppliers once accused of corruption

The state military acquisition agency has continued to sign contracts with local firms with a track record of irregularities, making it difficult to stamp out corruptive practices in defense deals, a ruling party lawmaker said Monday.Rep. Chung Mi-kyung of the Grand National Party said during the pa

Sept. 26, 2011

Seoul may cancel Global Hawk purchase

U.S. surveillance planes cost almost five times the amount first budgeted forSouth Korea is seriously considering halting its plan to purchase Global Hawk surveillance planes as their price has more than doubled, a local daily reported Monday.Seoul has sought to deploy four of the high-altitude unma

Sept. 26, 2011

Tanker drivers stole over 460,000 liters of military oil: report

Contractors employed to deliver oil to the military have stolen hundreds of thousands of liters over the past three years, a report revealed Monday, raising concerns about lax fuel management amid soaring energy costs.Tanker drivers siphoned off 462,000 liters of oil between 2009 and the beginning o

Sept. 26, 2011

Deploying unmanned spy drones top priority for Army

SEOUL, Sept. 26 (Yonhap) -- Deploying unmanned surveillance aircraft is the most important task among the Army‘s armament plans to better monitor North Korea’s military activities, according to a lawmaker on Monday.It was the second time that the Army placed the deployment of spy drones at the top o

Sept. 26, 2011