By Jhoo Dong-chan
The Agency for Defense Development and military contractor, LIG Nex1, are under investigation over alleged irregularities in the development of a portable anti-tank guided missile.
Investigators of a joint government team investigating defense industry corruption raided the agency in Daejeon, and the headquarters of LIG Nex1, hired to advance the missile’s development, in Yongin, Gyeonggi Province, and three other institutes related to the project, Tuesday.
They secured documents regarding the development of the mid-range infantry guided missile, named “Hyeongung” or “Raybolt.”
Raybolt is the first anti-tank guided missile developed and produced by Korean contractors using domestic technology, and was expected to upgrade the Army’s military strength.
The raid comes a month after the Board of Audit and Inspection (BAI) detected an alleged supply of faulty products last month.
According to the BAI, LIG Nex1 and other contractors supplied test equipment for the missile, worth some 8 billion won, to the agency from 2012-2014. One piece of equipment was designed to measure temperature, vibration and impact of weapons, and the other was to test the missile’s autonomous navigation and remote control systems.
The agency allegedly allowed the contractors to supply faulty parts during the performance test and fabricated the test-related documents. In the case of LIG Nex1, it did not have necessary sensors but the agency allegedly evaluated it as “satisfactory,” paying 1.1 billion won for the part.
The agency also purchased seven sets of remote control panels from the contractors, but fabricated documents as if it had received 11, and gave almost the total payment for the false 11 sets.
It has not been ascertained whether there was a bribery connection between officials of the agency and LIG Nex1, but the probe team said it is not ruling out such corruption.
“We’ll summon officials of the agency and the contractors in charge of the supply,” an official from the team said.
The team’s previous investigation has mainly focused on irregularities related to the Navy.
Earlier this month, a local court sentenced former Chief of Naval Operations Jung Ok-keun to 10 years in prison for receiving 700 million won in kickbacks from STX Engine and STX Offshore and Shipbuilding in 2008 when he was leading the Navy in return for giving business favors to the firms.