Ex-Navy chiefs investigated for bribery

Hwang Ki-chul

By Kim Se-jeong

Former Navy chief Hwang Ki-chul was arrested Sunday for allegedly taking bribes from a ship parts producer in exchange for helping it win supply contracts for Korea’s first salvage ship, the Tongyeong.

Another former Navy chief Chung Ok-geun is also being investigated for taking kickbacks from the same parts supplier for the 3,500-ton ship. Chung will be summoned for questioning soon, according to the prosecution. Chung has already been indicted for taking bribes from STX Corp., a trading company.

Hwang is accused of helping the parts supplier win a contract in the construction of the ship by faking quality assurance documents for the company’s out-dated sonar. The prosecution suspect Hwang was well aware of irregularities in the evaluation and selection process.

Hwang was a lieutenant commander and was serving as the head of the Defense Acquisition Program Administration (DAPA) when the alleged bribery case happened in 2009. Chung was the Navy chief then.

The troubled parts supplier is owned by a former Navy captain surnamed Kim, who was Chung’s peer at the Naval Academy. The name of the supplier was not disclosed.

Hwang is believed to be one of several DAPA officials who were bribed by firms involved in the project.

He has denied the allegations, claiming he had no involvement in the selection process. But the prosecution collected testimony from another Navy officer with knowledge of the process, who said Hwang had ordered him to allow the company to win the bid.

The Tongyeong is the first salvage and rescue ship designed and manufactured domestically. It was made in response to mounting calls for a made-in-Korea salvage ship after North Korea torpedoed the warship Cheonan in 2010. The ship was ready in 2012 after two years of construction, which cost almost 160 billion won ($142 million) of taxpayers’ money.

But it disappointed many during the ferry Sewol incident last year when the ship was found to be fraught with problems and could not be mobilized for rescue operations.