Brig. general held in fuel scandal

An Army brigadier general and a colonel have been arrested in connection with a scandal in which the Defense Procurement Agency of the Defense Ministry purchased jet oil at exorbitantly high prices.

The ministry`s joint investigation team headed by Army Maj. Gen. Kim Shi-Chon, apprehended the two suspects, known only as Brig. Gen. Yoo and Col. Park, on charges of embezzlement for wasting billions of won of the national budget by purchasing jet fuel from five domestic refineries at much higher prices than civilian firms.

The investigation team found that Brig. Gen. Yoo accepted a bribe of 5 million won from the oil

refining companies in connection with the jet oil purchases in April 1998, and is now probing

additional incidents.