Korean Military to Spend $150 Billion to Improve Combat Ability, Welfare By 2011

Korea Overseas Information Service, Korea will spend 151 trillion won ($150 billion) over the next five years to boost its independent defense capacity and secure advanced capabilities to counter any military threats, the country's top defense official said Tuesday (July 11). 
 
“President Roh Moo-hyun encouraged the ministry to carry out its plan as scheduled,” Defense Minister Yoon Kwang-ung said in a press conference. 
 
Earlier in the day, Yoon reported a five-year military reform plan to Roh at the presidential office Cheong Wa Dae, and the president gave orders to use it to strengthen the country's self-defense posture and military forces. 
 
Korea's aggregate defense spending over the period is estimated at 2.76 percent of gross domestic product (GDP) and up to 20 percent will be spent on military research and development. 
 
As part of efforts to streamline and bolster combat organizations, the ministry will push for a troop cut of 35,000 from 2007 until 2011, mostly from the Army, and the number of troops will shrink to 634,000. 
 
To bolster defense capabilities, it also plans to introduce advanced weapons systems such as surface-to-air missiles, mid-air fueling aircraft, large-sized transport ships and planes and 3,000-ton submarines. 
 
Under the SAM-X project valued at $1.6 billion, Korea will replace aging Nike missiles with advanced PAC-III Patriot missiles as early as 2007. 
 
“The president also asked the ministry to focus on improving the quality of life at the barracks and helping soldiers to carry on studies they are supposed to go back to,” Yoon told reporters. 
 
In its drive to improve soldiers' welfare, the military plans to spend a total of 3.05 trillion won next year, including expenses for increasing the wages of conscripts and renovating barracks. 
 
The monthly wage for each corporal-rank conscript will be lifted from the current 65,000 won next year to 80,000 won by 2007. 
 
The move is partly in response to a series of tragic incidents committed by personnel who found themselves deeply at odds with military life. 
 
All Korean men aged over 19 are required to serve in the military for at least 24 months, unless they are exempted for mental or physical reasons. But some manage to avoid this by exploiting a number of minor loopholes. 
 
Under the plan, it will spend 27.6 billion won next year to launch a project to purchase guided weapons, including GPS-guided joint direct attack munitions (JDAM) and long-range anti-submarine torpedoes. In particular, Korea plans to purchase a total of 900 GPS-JDAMs valued at 120 billion won by 2012. 
 
In 2007, the ministry will also start a project to secure an additional 20 “F-15 fighter-level” jets to beef up its air defense capability. 
 
“The model has not been decided yet. So we cannot say whether it will be the F-15K model even though its capability should be on par with it,” a senior Defense Ministry official said, asking to remain anonymous, noting the model selection will be made in the second half of this year. 
 
The project is the second phase of the country's ongoing fighter jet procurement project, dubbed F-X. U.S. aircraft manufacturer Boeing Co. is to deliver 40 F-15K fighter jets to Korea by the end of 2008. 
 
The ministry will also push to create an air base headquarters in Osan south of Seoul by 2010, bringing the total number of air base headquarters to six across the country. 
 
Under the plan, Korea will establish a military command system which connects higher units with lower ones through a state-of-the-art digital network. 
 
The system, known as “C4I,” refers to a joint command, control, communications, computers and intelligence system that enables a commander to selectively apply and maximize combat power at critical points in time and space on the battlefield.