Prosecutors Trace Bank Accounts of High-ranking Military Officials

The prosecutors in charge of the ongoing investigation into irregularities in recent military promotions have launched an intensive inquiry of the high-ranking military officials and generals suspected of fabricating personnel data on December 26, in order to determine whether the higher-ranking officials were involved in the scandal.

The military prosecution has announced that it plans to track down the bank accounts of the higher-ranking officials in the military human resources department to determine whether bribery was involved in the process.

The Army has complained about the details on the irregularities in the military promotion as reported by the military prosecution on December 24. Also, the accusations regarding the indicted have not yet been proved, further leading to difficulties in the summons proceedings of the military officials, including the Defense Ministry Chief of Staff Nam Jae-joon.

A military officer stated, “We believe that it will be difficult to maintain the public action, especially because the complaints by the Army are highly convincing,” and added, “The military prosecution should take all measures in probing into the investigation.”

Three military prosecutors including Major Choi, who was dismissed from office purportedly on the grounds of breaching military discipline by failing to follow directions and leaking the investigation details, submitted a request for review to the Legal Affairs section of the Defense Ministry on December 24, claiming that the grounds and procedure of the dismissal were unreasonable.

Sang-Ho Yun ysh1005@donga.com