Prosecution to summon USFK employee

The Seoul District Prosecutors¡¯ Office will summon a civilian employee working at a mortuary in the Yongsan Compound of the Eighth U.S. Army Thursday, at the earliest, for questioning about the release of toxic chemicals into the Han River. The Foreign Affairs Department of the office plans to interrogate the employee -- identified only as Kim, who allegedly discharged formaldehyde through a drain -- about whether he was forced to do so by the deputy chief of the mortuary, McPheland Albert.

The prosecutors will also probe if the U.S. Army, as the civic environmental group Green Korea United has charged, habitually emitted toxic chemicals into the river, including 228 liters of formaldehyde contained in 475 480 ml bottles. Green Korea United, on July 20, filed a complaint with the prosecutors` office against Albert and Gen. Thomas Schwartz, commander-in-chief of the U.S. Forces Korea, on suspicion of violating the Law on the Management of Toxic Chemical Materials, Law on the Management of Wastes and the Law on the Preservation of Water Quality Environment.