By Yoon Won-sup
Staff Reporter

Military prosecutors are investigating bank records of a major general who is said to have ordered manipulation of personnel documents used in the Army shakeup in October, sources at the Ministry of National Defense said Sunday. The general is in charge of personnel management at the Army headquarters.

Prosecutors have found evidence of irregularities in the general’s promotion screening process, and are now trying to confirm through investigating his bank records if he had received bribes from newly promoted brigadier generals, the sources said. A total of 52 colonels were promoted to one-star generals.

If the general is found to have taken money as bribes in return for influence-peddling in the promotions, the investigators will call in Army Chief of Staff Gen. Nam Jae-joon for questioning.

However, a lack of evidence of money transfers for the reshuffling may put the military prosecution on the defensive, relieving Gen. Nam of allegations that he is implicated in the scandal.

The move shows the investigators’ determination to continue to thoroughly dig into the promotion scandal. Last Friday, prosecutors announced the existence of corruption in the Army reshuffle and indicted four officers over irregularities in the screening process.

Last Saturday, three officers dismissed from their posts as military prosecutors filed a petition calling for a reconsideration of the decision with the ministry.

The prosecutors claimed the reasons given for their discharge were ill founded and asserted their innocence.

The dismissed investigators declared they had not leaked any information about the investigation into the Army promotion scandal to the press and demanded the ministry confirm whether Defense Minister Yoon Kwang-ung had actually ordered them to conduct complementary investigations for an arrest warrant for a brigadier general.

Last week, the ministry’s spokesman Shin Hyun-don explained that the prosecutors had been sacked because they had failed to follow Minister Yoon’s order not to disclose any of the results of their probe. Shin added the prosecutors also ignored the minister’s call for further investigations to produce additional evidence for the issuing of the arrest warrant.

The ministry will hold a panel meeting this week to review the prosecutors’ petition.

The six-member committee, which decided to dismiss the three prosecutors from their positions, had difficulty in reaching an agreement as the reasons for the dismissal were not convincing, sources at the ministry said.

The three investigators offered to resign on Dec. 17 to protest against Yoon’s refusal to endorse their request for an arrest warrant for a brigadier general, who allegedly intervened in the promotion process illegally.

yoonwonsup@koreatimes.co.kr