By Jun Ji-hye
The government, military and prosecution have begun an all-out effort to root out widespread corruption within the defense industry. The clampdown comes after a series of projects tainted by corruption came to light, including one involving a Navy salvage ship. The National Assembly is backing the inter-departmental drive.
Rep. Kwon Eun-hee, spokeswoman of the ruling Saenuri Party, said Tuesday that prosecutors from the Supreme Prosecutors’ Office and military officers will form a joint investigation team as early as this week.
“Members of the Financial Supervisory Service will also join the team,” she said.
Kim Min-seok, a spokesman for the Ministry of National Defense, also confirmed the plan, saying, “Military investigators need to join the investigation as suspects include active servicemen.”
A former Navy officer was indicted earlier last month on charges of forging a document for the selection of a sonar system for the 3,500-ton Tongyeong, the first domestic-made rescue and salvage ship, when he was in charge of selecting a supplier on behalf of the Defense Acquisition Program Administration (DAPA).
The vessel that cost 160 billion won ($146 million) was launched in September 2012, but failed to take part in the rescue operation after the Sewol ferry sank in April, as the Navy refused to accept the vessel due to the sonar system being outdated.
President Park Geun-hye previously criticized the arms procurement agency, commenting, “Petty corruption can weaken core military capabilities.”
Critics have argued that such corruption is the result of collusive relationships between retired soldiers working in the defense industry and soldiers on active service assigned to the procurement agency.
Kim said, “The joint investigation team will unearth the truth behind various corruption cases.”
As part of efforts to eradicate irregularities and malpractices, the defense ministry is also providing anti-corruption education at the headquarters of the Army, the Navy and the Air Force.
“The circuit education, conducted by expert instructors from Transparency International Korea (TI Korea), began on Nov. 12 and will run through Nov. 27,” said Kim.
TI Korea is a non-governmental organization founded in 1999 through a coalition of civil organizations assigned with the purpose of raising public awareness to eliminate widespread corruption in society.
“The elimination of corruption is urgently necessary. The ministry plans to carry out such education consistently so that moral integrity can be established in the minds of the people concerned,” said Kim.
For its part, DAPA held a meeting Tuesday with CEOs from 40 defense industries including Samsung Techwin to consider a range of anti-corruption measures.
Rep. Kwon said, “The ruling party welcomes timely measures from the ministry and government. The party will support activities of the joint investigation team because corruption on defense industry projects amounts to internal enemies that threaten national security.”
Meanwhile, President Park appointed Chang Myoung-jin, a former researcher for the Agency for Defense Development, as the new head of DAPA, entrusting him with the task of eliminating corruption.
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