By Lee Hyo-sik
Prosecutors raided the headquarters of Daewoo Engineering and Construction (Daewoo E&C) in central Seoul, Thursday, over allegations that the builder had offered bribes to arms procurement chief Chang Soo-man in return for business favors.
About 10 investigators from the Seoul Eastern District Prosecutors’ Office searched the company's headquarters, seizing computer drives and corporate documents.
An executive at Daewoo E&C said investigators came to the office at noon, and took computer hard disks and financial documents, adding the raid seemed to have something to do with the growing graft scandal surrounding Chang.
The prosecution has been looking into allegations that the former commissioner of the Defense Acquisition Program Agency (DAPA), received gift certificates issued by a department store, worth 13 million won ($11,000), from Daewoo E&C CEO Seo Jong-uk in return for helping the firm win a military construction deal. The certificates have been kept by Chang’s friend, who is a tax accountant.
Investigators said they are checking into how the certificates were delivered to Chang and whether he provided favors to Daewoo and helped it secure a military construction project.
Last April, the builder won the contract, worth 47.8 billion won, aimed at relocating the Special Warfare Command and an airborne unit from their current location in southern Seoul to Icheon Gyeonggi Province. At the time, Chang was the vice defense minister.
The raid came one day after Chang stepped down from his post over a bribery scandal alleging that he received a total of 63 million won from a jailed businessman Yu Sang-bong, who was arrested last December for illegally brokering a number of contracts to operate cafeterias at construction sites.