Commissioner Park Jin-ho: "The Broadcasting Review Committee Must Be Significantly Strengthened"

Interview with Park Jin-ho, Defense Acquisition Program Promotion Committee Member from the People Power Party

As next year's general election approaches, a figure emerging as a defense expert in the ruling party is Park Jin-ho, a member of the Defense Acquisition Program Promotion Committee affiliated with the People Power Party. He hails from Mungyeong, Gyeongbuk, and holds a master's degree in National Security Studies from Georgetown University in the United States. In 2017, he was also selected as a Korean representative 'Young Leader' at the Munich Security Conference in Germany.

Park is considered one of the few defense industry experts in the National Assembly. During the formation of the first cabinet of the current government, he was even mentioned as a candidate for the Administrator of the Defense Acquisition Program Administration. Following the Moon Jae-in administration, he continues to serve as a member of the Defense Acquisition Program Promotion Committee (DAPP) under the current government, involved in weapons development and procurement projects. He has also served as an aide to the chairman of the National Defense Committee in the National Assembly, vice chairman of the People Power Party's Audit Committee, and as an ethics committee member.

Park criticized the current operation method of the DAPP. He pointed out, "Developing and purchasing weapons requires expertise not only in military knowledge but also in various other fields," and emphasized, "The number of external experts must be significantly increased." This implies that internal committee members face limitations in adjusting the proposed agenda. He also added, "It is essential to take corrective measures regarding the very low participation of public officials from the Ministry of Economy and Finance, the Ministry of Science and ICT, and the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy, even though they are designated members under the Defense Acquisition Program Act." Park further stressed, "According to Article 9 of the Defense Acquisition Program Act, to reflect the decisions of the DAPP in the defense acquisition process, a method for rapid processing must be established."

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He did not hold back criticism regarding domestic defense industry policies. He stated, "Although the government established institutions and policies to foster the defense industry, such as opening the Defense Acquisition Program Administration in 2006, the results are still insufficient," and pointed out, "Issues like technology fees that do not consider the unique characteristics of the defense industry must be resolved."

Regarding the defense material designation system created for stable weapon procurement, he emphasized it as a "bad law that blocks corporate profits." He explained, "When recognized as defense materials rather than general materials, companies determine the final contract amount based on actual incurred cost data," and stressed, "Yet, the operating profit margin of defense companies (4.6%) is lower than that of general manufacturing (6.8%), which proves the ineffectiveness of the defense material designation system." He added, "The lack of objectivity and reliability in the criteria for designating defense materials casts doubt on the government's commitment to fostering the defense industry."

Regarding 'K-Defense' exports, he explained the urgent need for specialization among domestic defense companies. He emphasized, "Under the World Trade Organization (WTO) system, there are limits to the support a country can provide to promote exports of its domestic companies," and stressed "the specialization and affiliation of the domestic defense industry and the exploration of various offset trade methods." He also highlighted the competitiveness of small and medium enterprises in the defense industry. Park proposed, "Some of the 129 overseas trade offices operated by the Korea Trade-Investment Promotion Agency (KOTRA) should be transformed into forward bases for defense small and medium enterprises."

He raised objections to the decision-making system for requirements and verification of weapon systems when promoting defense capability improvement projects. He said, "Our military lacks even a simulation system to integrally verify the military strategic expected effects of weapon systems alongside existing ones when selecting weapon systems," urging maximization of the effectiveness of military force construction.

He also emphasized that various policies are being developed in the National Assembly. He said, "We will also create specific criteria to reduce delay damages, which defense companies find most difficult."

He appealed for proactive administration at the Defense Acquisition Program Administration. Park stated, "Our country mainly adopts a positive list system that sets the allowable scope, but to induce proactive administration by the Defense Acquisition Program Administration, a negative list system that sets the non-allowable scope should be pursued."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.