'Choi Soon-sil linked to Lockheed Martin'
By Jun Ji-hye
An Min-suk
An opposition lawmaker has claimed that Choi Soon-sil, the scandal-ridden confidant of President Park Geun-hye, may have illicitly helped U.S. defense company Lockheed Martin receive business favors from the Park government.
One suspicion raised by Rep. An Min-suk of the main opposition Democratic Party of Korea is that Choi may have intervened in the government decision to allow the United States Forces Korea to deploy a Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) battery, made by Lockheed, here.
“As far as I know, Choi met with Lockheed’s president in June,” An said Thursday during his appearance on a TBS radio program. He noted that a person who introduced the two was a South Korean “big shot” in diplomatic and defense circles and apparently had close ties to the U.S. firm.
In July, Seoul and Washington announced their decision to deploy THAAD, citing the need to better deter evolving threats from North Korea’s nuclear and missile program, despite strong objections from the opposition parties and local residents.
The four-term lawmaker said that six years ago, when the go-between stayed in the United States for two years, Lockheed paid for this.
He said any alleged wealth Choi might have accumulated would be nothing compared with the “commission” she may have received from the government’s decision to deploy THAAD.
Choi has been indicted for allegedly interfering in various state affairs and extorting local conglomerates to accumulate her wealth. The prosecution has named President Park as an “accomplice.”
On Nov. 15, the lawmaker claimed that Lockheed has won many more defense contracts in South Korea covering from 2015 to 2021 compared with those it won covering 2010 to 2015.
President Park was inaugurated in February 2013.
“Lockheed was awarded some 80 billion won ($68 million) in contracts covering from 2010 to 2015, but contracts the company secured to cover from 2015 to 2021 are worth more than 12 trillion won,” An said in an appearance on a CBS radio program.
Noting that he received a credible tip-off, An said there was a suspicion of Choi’s involvement and he is working to find out the details.
He cited one example in which Seoul signed a 7.3 trillion won deal with Lockheed in September 2014 to buy 40 F-35 fighter jets.
“When National Security Office chief Kim Kwan-jin was serving as defense minister and decided to select the F-35 over Boeing’s F15 Silent Eagle, he said it was a political decision,” An said. “I am focusing on what that meant.”
Other contracts Lockheed signed with Seoul under the Park government include a project to upgrade the South Korean Air Force’s KF-16 fleet and a deal to equip three new KDX-III destroyers with the company’s Aegis Baseline 9, the latest version of the combat system.
Seoul also plans to import Lockheed’s PAC-3 antiballistic missiles to complete the Korea Air and Missile Defense and Kill Chain preemptive strike systems.
An argued that if Choi’s intervention in arms procurement decisions turns out to be true, it will cause a big problem as these are concerned with national security.
He said a key person to unearth the truth behind the allegations is Linda Kim, who was an influential arms lobbyist, until the early 2000s, and is suspected of having been friends with Choi. However, it is not easy to interview Kim because she is in jail for methamphetamine use, he said.