ID :
209595
Tue, 09/27/2011 - 06:03
Auther :
Shortlink :
https://oananews.org//node/209595
The shortlink copeid
Gov't axes 2012 budget for presidential jet
By Kim Deok-hyun
SEOUL (Yonhap) - The planned introduction of a presidential jet will likely be delayed again, as it has been excluded from the government's 2012 spending plan, the defense ministry said Tuesday, while announcing a 5.6 percent hike in next year's defense expenditure.
The defense ministry scrapped a project last year to buy a presidential jet after negotiations with Boeing of the U.S. failed mainly due to differences on price. The ministry sought to set aside outlays to revive the project next year, but it was rejected by the finance ministry.
Currently, President Lee Myung-bak uses a Boeing 747-400 jet for overseas trips under a five-year lease with Korean Air.
"The proposed initial spending to buy a presidential jet was not included in the total defense budget proposal for next year because the government has yet to decide whether to continue the five-year lease or introduce a new aircraft," a defense ministry official said on the condition of anonymity.
The South Korean government had been originally looking to buy Boeing's newest 747-8 airplane for some 500 billion won (US$422.8 million), but Boeing's asking price was too high to be acceptable to the government, ministry officials said.
According to the ministry's proposal, it requested a budget of 33.1 trillion won for next year, compared with 31.2 trillion won this year, to bolster military capacity and improve the welfare of its largely conscript Army.
If approved by parliament, defense spending will account for 10.3 percent of a 2012 government budget of 321.1 trillion won.
In the aftermath of North Korea's two military attacks last year, South Korea's armed forces have sought to deploy more high-tech weapons and fighter jets.
The two Koreas are still technically at war because the 1950-53 Korean War ended with a fragile cease-fire, not a peace treaty. The United States stations about 28,500 troops in South Korea as a deterrent against the North.
SEOUL (Yonhap) - The planned introduction of a presidential jet will likely be delayed again, as it has been excluded from the government's 2012 spending plan, the defense ministry said Tuesday, while announcing a 5.6 percent hike in next year's defense expenditure.
The defense ministry scrapped a project last year to buy a presidential jet after negotiations with Boeing of the U.S. failed mainly due to differences on price. The ministry sought to set aside outlays to revive the project next year, but it was rejected by the finance ministry.
Currently, President Lee Myung-bak uses a Boeing 747-400 jet for overseas trips under a five-year lease with Korean Air.
"The proposed initial spending to buy a presidential jet was not included in the total defense budget proposal for next year because the government has yet to decide whether to continue the five-year lease or introduce a new aircraft," a defense ministry official said on the condition of anonymity.
The South Korean government had been originally looking to buy Boeing's newest 747-8 airplane for some 500 billion won (US$422.8 million), but Boeing's asking price was too high to be acceptable to the government, ministry officials said.
According to the ministry's proposal, it requested a budget of 33.1 trillion won for next year, compared with 31.2 trillion won this year, to bolster military capacity and improve the welfare of its largely conscript Army.
If approved by parliament, defense spending will account for 10.3 percent of a 2012 government budget of 321.1 trillion won.
In the aftermath of North Korea's two military attacks last year, South Korea's armed forces have sought to deploy more high-tech weapons and fighter jets.
The two Koreas are still technically at war because the 1950-53 Korean War ended with a fragile cease-fire, not a peace treaty. The United States stations about 28,500 troops in South Korea as a deterrent against the North.
