The Korean government plans to invest 579 billion won ($534 million) in genomics research over the next eight years to create and support related industries in the field.Five ministries will be participating in the project ― the Ministry of Education, Science and Technology; Ministry of Health and Welfare; Ministry of Knowledge Economy; Ministry of Land, Transport and Maritime Affairs; and Ministry for Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries.The plan comes as Korea has been lagging behind other adva

Technology Nov. 27, 2012

Hyundai Rotem, a unit of Hyundai Motor Group, has been chosen as the preferred bidder to develop proprietary amphibious armored vehicles by the Defense Acquisition Program Administration.DAPA plans to develop up to three test vehicles, complete with Korean-made parts and equipment by 2015, and will be deployed at infantry units for operation beginning in 2016, an DAPA official said.DAPA will finalize its negotiations with Rotem by the end of December.This is in line with efforts to build Korean

Defense Nov. 27, 2012

Defense officials in South Korea and the U.S. are closely monitoring signs that North Korea may be preparing to test-fire a long-range ballistic missile. The U.S. recently informed South Korea and Japan that it had detected via satellite North Korea transporting something shaped like a missile component from a weapons factory in Pyongyang to its missile assembly base in Dongchang-ri, North Pyongan Province, Japan’s Asahi Shimbun reported Friday. “We are closely monitoring North Korea’s movements

Defense Nov. 23, 2012

SK Telecom, Korea’s biggest telecom company, is most likely to merge two of its subsidiaries -- SK Planet and SK Marketing & Company -- as a means to beef up their mobile business, industry sources said.The telecom giant will move forward with the merger and acquisition plan after it acquires SK Innovation’s 50 percent stake in SK M&C for a 100 percent controlling equity.SK Telecom will likely make SK Planet the surviving entity through a statutory merger with SK M&C, which will dissolve after t

Technology Nov. 23, 2012

South Korea’s Agency for Defense Development is seeking to revise laws to allow it to share and transfer ideas and technology more easily between itself, the Defense Acquisition Program Administration and the private sector.Its proposal for the revision is subject to approval by the National Assembly.The proposal comes as the agency plans to restructure some of its key divisions to set up a new unit focusing on developing new defense technology in collaboration with private companies, including

Defense Nov. 19, 2012

The Joint Chiefs of Staff’s operational readiness inspection unit will be restructured by the end of this year, defense officials said.The unit will be re-established under the wing of the Ministry of National Defense by early 2013, with an expanded role evaluating and overseeing comprehensive aspects of the Army, Air Force, Navy and Marine Corps, including munitions supplies, administration and the strategic command system.The JCS unit had been limited to inspection and evaluation of the milita

Defense Nov. 18, 2012

The military’s medical treatment system is receiving public criticism following its latest blunder that led an enlisted man to lapse into a coma.Even though experts have called for improved medical services in the army, the Ministry of Defense continues to see accidents and deaths stemming from treatment mishaps occurring every year.Last Monday, Corporal Kim Yoo-seung with the Fifth Corps’ armored brigade was transferred to Asan Medical Center where he has been unconscious after belatedly being

Social Affairs Nov. 16, 2012

With the Arctic sea ice melting to an all-time low, record high temperatures in East Asia, and debilitating droughts in the United States, we are now living with predicted effects of climate change. In a recent study, James Hansen, director of NASA’s Goddard Institute, and his co-authors found that the European heat wave in 2003, the Russian heat wave in 2010 and droughts in Texas and Oklahoma in 2011 can each be attributed to climate change. Climate change is real and it is happening now with p

Nov. 12, 2012

The National Assembly’s Defense Committee on Friday passed a bill allowing a time extension for South Korean troops stationed in the United Arab Emirates.Some 150 Korean soldiers will continue to carry on their duty of assisting their counterparts in anti-terrorism training in the UAE until the end of 2013.Korea sent its troops to the UAE in 2011 for a year in line with efforts to boost strategic partnerships between the two sides after Korea won its biggest nuclear power project deal.The Korean

Politics Nov. 9, 2012

The Joint Chiefs of Staff is expected to have the full authority to oversee the armed forces’ armaments and operational capability beginning next year.This is in line with efforts to streamline the chain of command between the Army, Air Force and Navy for faster decision-making, defense officials said.The JCS will be given the full power to comprehensively assess and make final decisions as to what weapon systems need to be upgraded or replaced and what is required to boost capabilities of each

Defense Nov. 8, 2012