Navy general arrested on embezzlement charge
/Courtesy of Twitter
By Lee Han-soo
The Korean Navy’s Cheonghae Unit, which is part of the Combined Task Force 151 that counters piracy in Somalia, is under scrutiny after a current navy one-star general was arrested Monday for allegedly embezzling 30 million won ($26,000) of provision expenses.
The suspect led the unit during its 10th tour in 2012.
Military prosecutors have also booked two officers without detention on the same charge.
The officers allegedly embezzled money by giving favors to a Somalian company operated by a Korean. The company then doubled the price of provisions and gave kickbacks to the officers, who bought expensive whisky.
Army prosecutors are also investigating whether former captains during the unit’s tour, which rotates every six months, also were involved.
In October 2015, the ship captain of the 11th tour was arrested for embezzlement and sentenced to 18 months in prison.
“Besides the 10th tour unit, we are also looking to prosecute five officers from the eighth, 12th, 14th and 18th tour for embezzling funds,” a military prosecutor said.
Netizens described the charges as a dishonor to the unit, which earned high praise for rescuing Korean hostages in 2011 during Operation Dawn of Gulf of Aden.