3 Retired Generals Under Investigation for Wrongdoings


By Na Jeong-ju
Staff Reporter
At least three retired military generals, including two former commanders of the ROK Marine Corps, are under investigation for alleged embezzlement, bribery and other irregularities committed while in active service, prosecutors said on Wednesday.

Prosecutors said they would not release any names until they secure concrete evidence.

A shake-up of high-level military personnel looks imminent with a number of other military officers facing investigation over similar wrongdoings.

On Saturday, Gen. Shin Il-soon, deputy chief of the ROK-U.S. Combined Forces Command, was arrested and jailed on embezzlement charges. Shin has admitted to the charges, saying it is common practice for military commanders to make arbitrary decisions on the use of unit funds. State auditors said on Wednesday that it would revise laws in order to strengthen its auditing and inspection of spending in the military budget.

About seven or eight military contractors are also under scrutiny for allegedly providing bribes to a number of active officers from the Special Warfare Command and some engineering and mechanical units.

The Seoul District Prosecutor’s Office said it had recently received information from military prosecutors allowing them to dig further into the cases. The retired generals and certain others may face arrests, it added.

In one case, a three-star general misappropriated about 80 million won in unit funds while serving as the commander of the Marine Corps. A tip from anonymous sources shows that the general also took a large amount of money in kickbacks from officers in return for his promise to promote them.

Prosecutors said a four-star general meddled in personnel appointments after taking tens of millions of won in kickbacks from his subordinates.

Two military contractors, identified by the surnames Lee and Kim, have been indicted for distributing kickbacks to officers of the Special Warfare Command. The contractors provided parachutes and helmets for mountain warfare to command units, according to prosecutors.

The prosecutors have also taken another military contractor into custody for offering bribes to officers of engineering and mechanical units. The contractor, identified by the surname Cho, gave tens of millions of won in bribes to the chief of a unit in order to receive favorable treatment in a construction project initiated by the unit.

jj@koreatimes.co.kr