S. Korea to step up direct government purchases of arms: official

SEOUL, Dec. 31 (Yonhap) -- South Korea will increase government-to-government
purchases of weapons next year to cut down on commissions paid out to corporate
agents, an official said Thursday.

The plan comes after President Lee Myung-bak called earlier this year on the
defense ministry to push to reduce transaction costs generated when arms dealers
are involved.
About 65 percent of weapons purchases by South Korea are made through corporate
intermediaries, according to Jang Ki-yoon, director of foreign policy at the
Ministry of National Defense, while the rest depend on foreign military sales
(FMS) programs operated by governments.
"We believe we can increase the transparency of arms dealings by dealing directly
with the government as often as possible," Jang told reporters, adding about 590
agents are working in South Korea to promote weapons produced by their employers.
The decision to increase the portion of direct government purchases was included
in the ministry's plans for 2010, which were reported to President Lee this week.
South Korea is one of the largest arms buyers in the world. It bought US$800
million worth of U.S. arms on a foreign military sales basis last year, according
to the U.S. Congressional Research Service.
samkim@yna.co.kr
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