By Kim Rahn
Former STX Group Chairman Kang Duk-soo faces questioning over the group's alleged offering of a bribe to former Chief of Naval Operations Jung Ok-keun.
Jung may also be summoned for questioning.
A joint government investigation team said Tuesday that it recently called in STX Corp. CEO Seo Choong-il multiple times for questioning as a witness.
This was the first time that a corporate executive has been summoned since the team was launched in November to probe corruption allegations in the defense industry.
The team interrogated Seo about why and how STX Group affiliates provided 700 million won ($647,000) to Yacht N Company, a marine sports marketing firm owned by Jung's son, ahead of the 2008 International Fleet Review event in Busan in October of that year.
Jung was head of the Navy at that time.
Yacht N Company organized a yacht race as part of the event. STX Engine, which produced diesel engines for warships, and STX Offshore and Shipbuilding, which won a bid to build the Navy's guided missile patrol boats, sponsored the race.
"The race was poorly organized, and the company shut down soon thereafter. For STX, the race was not worth 700 million won in marketing expenses and the sponsorship did not follow the group's usual process," said an official of the team.
"We are focusing on whether STX offered that much money to the company of Jung's son, expecting additional orders from the Navy. We need to question Kang who decided on the sponsorship."
Kang has been in jail since April on charges of embezzlement and breach of trust.
If the team finds the money was actually transferred to Jung, it will call him in for questioning.
In 2012, after his retirement, Jung was arrested on charges of embezzling 520 million won from the Navy's welfare funds. But he was released after a high court gave him a three-year suspended jail term.
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| Kang Duk-soo |
Jung may also be summoned for questioning.
A joint government investigation team said Tuesday that it recently called in STX Corp. CEO Seo Choong-il multiple times for questioning as a witness.
This was the first time that a corporate executive has been summoned since the team was launched in November to probe corruption allegations in the defense industry.
The team interrogated Seo about why and how STX Group affiliates provided 700 million won ($647,000) to Yacht N Company, a marine sports marketing firm owned by Jung's son, ahead of the 2008 International Fleet Review event in Busan in October of that year.
Jung was head of the Navy at that time.
Yacht N Company organized a yacht race as part of the event. STX Engine, which produced diesel engines for warships, and STX Offshore and Shipbuilding, which won a bid to build the Navy's guided missile patrol boats, sponsored the race.
"The race was poorly organized, and the company shut down soon thereafter. For STX, the race was not worth 700 million won in marketing expenses and the sponsorship did not follow the group's usual process," said an official of the team.
"We are focusing on whether STX offered that much money to the company of Jung's son, expecting additional orders from the Navy. We need to question Kang who decided on the sponsorship."
Kang has been in jail since April on charges of embezzlement and breach of trust.
If the team finds the money was actually transferred to Jung, it will call him in for questioning.
In 2012, after his retirement, Jung was arrested on charges of embezzling 520 million won from the Navy's welfare funds. But he was released after a high court gave him a three-year suspended jail term.
