SPARK: Largely Cut the 2010 Defense Budget!

SPARK: Largely Cut the 2010 Defense Budget for Feeding the USFK(United States Forces of Korea), Ignorant of People’s Welfare, and Countering Peace!

The Solidarity for Peace And Reunification of Korea (SPARK) denounced the review upon the way of rough and ready method by the Defense Committee, National Assembly of ROK, in the 96th Peace and Disarmament rally on Nov. 23, 2009. The SPARK denounced the committee for adding more of the unnecessary items to the original defense budget submitted by the government .

According to SPARK, ‘among the defense budget, about 3 trillion 300 billion won [about $2.7 billion] is related to the South Korea-United States alliance. Many parts of the amount are not based on the laws.’ For example, among the defense sharing cost of 790.4billion won [about $750 million], the CDIP budget of 44 billion won [about $4o million] has no legal base. See the detail in the below.

The SPARK also said the South Korea is No. 1 country that imports the U.S. made weapons and is trying to stablize the system for purchasing the US arms through the FMS

(* For reference, the South Korean defense budget in 2009 was 28 trillion 500 billion won [about $19~20 billion] and the 2010 defense budget submitted by the government is 29 trillion 600 billion won [about $25 billion], 3.8% increase from last year while
the increment of general budget is 2 % from last year. The South Korean military expenditure as of GDP is 2. 7% in 2006 while the amount of its total military expenditure was within 15 in the world. )

They had also a rolling one-person protest in front of the National Assembly in the morning.

The SPARK pointed out the 13 items to be first cut. (The exchange rate here was calculated 1$=1,160 won)

* Image source: SPARK
‘Cut the Illegal budget [for the law-baseless support of the United States Forces of Korea] ’,
‘Denounces the Defense Committee who supports the illegal budget’,
and ‘Cut the budget of 17.5billion won [about $15million] for the expansion of the Mugeonri training field’

* Image source: No base stories of Korea

Top: Fund for the creation of the social jobs instead cutting 32.5billion won [$ about 29 million] while cut the 0.3 ~21 billion won[about $0.25~19 million] for the excessive human cost for the high ranking military officers instead budgeting it!

Bottom: Fund 54.1billion won [about $ 50 million] for the lunch for the children going without a meal while cutting 27.2 billion won [about $25million] for the new construction of the seven military golf fields instead budgeting it!

* Image source: No base stories of Korea

Right: What on earth the talk on importing the special Presidential airplane[about $ 25milion]
while cutting the social welfare for the disabled!

Left: Cut the budget of 80.2 billion won [about $76 million] for the cluster munitions,
for the peace of the Korean peninsula

* Image source: SPARK
‘Cut the budget of 17.5billion won [about $15 million]
for the expansion of the Mugeonri training field’

* Image source: SPARK

'one-person protest in front of the National Assembly:
Largely Cut the 2010 Defense Budget for Feeding the USFK,
Ignorant of People’s Welfare, Countering Peace!'

* Related Korean articles:

SPARK
Largely Cut the 2010 Defense Budget for Feeding the USFK, Ignorant of People’s Welfare, and Countering Peace!
Nov. 23, 2009


*Below is the summary translation (unofficial)of the SPARK letter to the Defense Committee of the national Assembly of the ROK on Nov. 23, 2009.
* It was updated on Dec. 25, 2009, referring to the article at the bottom.


For the National Assembly that has the right of review and confirmation for budgets, to do its proper job:

1. It must first greatly cut the illegal budgets that have no legal basis in the government submission for the defense budget, 2010. Those are the costs for

__Combined Defense Improvement Project (CDIP)
:44 billion won [about $ 40 million]

Why? : Even though the Ministry of the National Defense(MND) claims the cost for the CDIP on the base
of the 8th Special Measure Agreement(2009~2013), the fact is that the 1st article of that agreement has no clause on CDIP because of no more need for demand for it by the USFK.

__ Research of the environmental contamination and healing business for the
returned USFK base
: 81.2 billion won [about $80 million]

Why?: There is no agreement between the United States and South Korea that the Koreans should cure the environmental damage of the returned U.S. base. By the ‘principal of the responsibility of the party that provided the cause of contamination’ acknowledged as the international law, it should be charged by the United States.

___Creation of the Cyber Defense Command Headquarter
: 3.1billion won [about $ 2.9 million]

___Construction of the Golf Field
: 4.3billion won [about $ 4.0 million]

Why? : While the former has no legal base for budgeting as the defense Committee has pointed out itself before, the latter is a violation of the ‘law on the special accounting on the relocation of the Defense military facilities’


2. The Defense Council must great cut the budget for the waste, ignorant of people’s welfare. They are:

___Excessive human cost for the high ranking military officers. In the item of soldiers’ welfare fund

Creation/ expansion of the seven golf fields
: 27.3billion won [about $ 24 million]

Fix of hotel and Condo
: 3.9billion won [about $3.5 million]

Rent fee for the Presidential special airplane
: 29.1 billion won [about $2.5 million]

• The President has rather told to cut all the waste in the government budget.

IPTV business
: 13.4 billion won [about $11 million]



3. The Defense Council must cut the cost for the purchase of all the aggressive weapons that counters against the Peace in the Korean peninsula

__Purchase for the next generation tank Heukpyo:
: 88.2 billion won[about $ 84 million]

Why? : The tank force of the South Korea is already super-higher than the North Korea and other vicinity countries. It also increase the military tension. The economic effect is also suspicious.

__Cluster Ammunition storage cost
: 80.8 billion won[ about $ 76 million]

Why? : The misfire rate of the cluster ammunition is higher than any other bullets. Furthermore about 98% of the causalities are the civilians. Because of that, the convention agreement against the production, use and handing-over of it was adapted in 2008 by 110 countries. It is anti-human itself.

__E-X (The Airborne Early Warning Controlling System) is the typical aggressive arm
: About 233 billion won [about $ 220 million]

Why? : The E-X is fundamentally for controlling the F-15K that carries the core mission in the pre-emptive strike against the North Korea and is for supporting the performance of the North East Asian theater operation by the United States air forces of Japan and Korea

__Joint Standoff weapon (JASSM (Joint Air-to-Surface Standoff Missile) level
: About 5 billion won[ about $4.7 million]

Why? : The budget layout for the 400 Km range weapon, under the pretext of the North Korea nuclear weapon not only increases the unnecessary military tension but also has a function problem. That is why the executive rate for the budget allotted it was 0% despite the fact that its 2009 budget was [about] 11billion won.

__ Development for the aggressive helicopter has also been pointed out of its unnessecity and its suspicious economic effect


4. The Defense Council must reconsider the cut for the items that ignore people's will and are against peace in the Korean peninsula.

__Jeju Naval Base
: About 92.5 billion won [about $90 million]

Why?: Despite the opposition by the village people, the plan has been enforced to be driven. Review on its rationality is needed./ The business executive rate for the naval base for last 4 years has been 33.2% while the executive rate to the current budget cost preparation was only 18. 6% as of July, 2009./ Still, the 2010 budget on it is 2.56 times bigger than 2009.

_Expansion of the Mugeonri Military Training Field
: About 17.5 billion won [about $16million]

Why?: The business executive rate of the Mugeon-ri military training field for last 4years has been 52.2% while the executive rate to the current budget cost preparation was only 15.1% as of July, 2009/ The village people have suggested the rational counter-measure that guarantees people’s survival right while keeping the existing size of the field without expansion of it. To hear their opinion would be helpful to greatly reduce the defense budget. Talks with the village people are more needed.


* For more details (Korean)

http://www.spark946.org/bugsboard/index_young.php?BBS=nuri_1&action=viewForm&uid=982&page=1
[Current Agenda] At Least These should be Cut in 2010 Defense Budget
SPARK Magazine No. 90
Oh Hye-Ran, Chief of the Peace and Disarmament Team, SPARK
Dec. 14, 2009
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