Retired rear admiral arrested for taking bribe

By Jun Ji-hye

A retired rear admiral has been arrested for taking a bribe from a brokerage firm in exchange for a business favor, according to a joint investigation team Thursday.

The team said the man, surnamed Lee, 61, received money and valuables worth about 50 million won ($45,000) from the firm in January 2009, when he was with the Ministry of National Defense.

The company asked him to use his influence on the Navy’s selection of communications equipment to be installed on an intelligence ship.

The investigators arrested Lee at his home on Tuesday.

The team of prosecutors and government and military officials was set up on Nov. 21 to root out widespread corruption within the defense industry. The corruption allegedly involves collusive relationships between people working in the defense industry and soldiers assigned to the procurement agency.

The team says it also has circumstantial evidence that Lee gave part of the bribe to other high-ranking naval officers.

“The joint team is expanding its investigation to find out who else was involved with this case,” an official said.

The naval intelligence ship is designed to serve near the inter-Korean sea border to collect voice and video information.

The ship has been embroiled in controversy over its communications gear following a series of accidents.

In April 2010, an unmanned aerial vehicle crashed at Pohang, North Gyeongsang Province, due to failed communications with the intelligence ship.

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