
President Moon Jae-in has strongly criticized shady deals in the defense industry, following the revelation of alleged corruption under the former Park Geun-hye administration regarding the sales of Korea's multipurpose Surion helicopters.
At a meeting with his senior secretaries on Monday, Moon likened military procurement-related corruption to an enemy-benefiting activity that threatens national security.
He reminded them of the Board of Audit and Inspection’s report on suspected Surion-related corruption by Defense Acquisition Program Administration head Chang Myoung-jin, and its request for the prosecution to investigate the case.
In order to come up with measures to root out defense-related corruption, Moon said he will revive the anticorruption inter-agency consultation body under the Roh Moo-hyun administration.
The entity held nine meetings since its creation in January 2004, but was effectively suspended at the start of the Lee Myung-bak administration.