Hwang Ki-Chul Not Guilty….

The Seoul Central District Court found the retired Adm. Hwang Ki-chul, who served as the Navy Chief of Staff from 2013 to 2015, not guilty of allegations that he pressured his subordinates to forge a document in 2009.A former Navy chief was acquitted Monday of peddling influence to help a firm win a deal to supply parts for South Korea's indigenous salvage ship.Hwang, who was in charge of the nation's project to build the Tongyeong at the Defense Acquisition Program Administration, was suspected to have played a role in the underhand dealings in order to get promoted.Prosecutors suspected that he made them manipulate a quality assurance document for a sonar system built by a parts supplier for the country's first domestic salvage ship. The supplier was introduced by a friend of the then-Navy Chief of Staff Chung Ok-geun."There is a lack of evidence to support the charges made by the prosecutors," Judge Hyun Yong-seon said, citing testimony by the friend of ex-Navy Chief Chung, identified only by his surname Kim, who denied allegations that he requested business favors from Hwang.The 3,500-ton Tongyeong was found to be fraught with problems and failed to participate in rescue operations in a ferry tragedy in April 2014 that killed more than 300 people. The court also said the motive is unclear in that the Navy Chief of Staff does not have the authority to decide the promotion of a soldier working at the Defense Acquisition Program Administration.
CREDIT