Jun Ji-hye, a reporter at the finance desk of The Korea Times, focuses primarily on economic policy and government agencies, mainly covering the Ministry of Finance and Economy, the Ministry of Budget and Planning, the National Tax Service and the Korea Customs Service. She previously covered financial authorities, including the Financial Services Commission and the Financial Supervisory Service, and earlier worked on the political, city and business desks, reporting on a wide range of issues.
Defense industry corruption rampant
By Jun Ji-hye
The state-run military research institute has been caught conducting false examinations of military equipment, according to the state auditor Thursday.
The finding was part of a report released by the Board of Audit and Inspection (BAI) after its inspection from October to November of the Ministry of National Defense.
Others included the Agency for Defense Development (ADD), the Joint Chiefs of Staff, the Defense Acquisition Program Administration (DAPA) and the Defense Agency for Technology and Quality.
According to the report, the ADD procured two kinds of equipment worth 8 billion won ($7 million) from a defense company from 2012 to 2014 and carried out examinations of its performance.
The first piece of equipment was designed to measure temperature, vibration and impact of weapons such as tanks, while the second was for their autonomous navigation and remote control.
The ADD decided that the first showed satisfactory performance although it was not equipped with a vibration sensor and control panel. The agency approved it and inappropriately gave the company 1.1 billion won.
Regarding the second one, the ADD purchased seven sets of the equipment in reality, but manipulated the document to suggest it was given 11 sets. The institute already paid for 90 percent of the 11 sets. The payment of the remaining 10 percent was suspended as the BAI’s inspection began.
The state auditor asked Defense Minister Han Min-koo and ADD President Jung Hong-yong to take disciplinary measures against those involved.
The BAI report drew keen attention as the prosecution’s investigation into widespread corruption in the defense industry is continuing.
“Lax management of military research and development is posing a severe threat to national security,” a BAI official told reporters.
Meanwhile, the state auditor also pointed out that the Navy Headquarters is still using an old-fashioned radar system although the development of a new model has been completed.
The government had decided to replace the old radar for detection with the new one in 2010 after North Korea’s torpedo attack that sank the warship Cheonan in the West Sea. Forty-six sailors were killed.
The auditor noted that the old system suffered dozens of failures from 2010 to last year.
The BAI also raised concerns over the Army’s use of 1.5-volt alkaline batteries and 3.7-volt lithium-ion batteries during cold weather training, pointing out that their reliability has not been proven.
“The use of equipment whose performance in cold weather has been untested can cause troubles for education and training,” the report said. “The Army should evaluate the suitability of such equipment again and come up with relevant measures.”
The auditor added that the DAPA wasted time as it signed a contract with a firm to build a tactical military bridge, but ended up cancelling it after the bridge capsized six times during the test. It noted that this failure had delayed the introduction of the bridge for more than four years.
Follow Jun Ji-hye on Twitter @TheKopJihye