[Joint Press Corps.]
A jailed four-star army general has been indicted for trial at a military court on charges of bribery and influence peddling. The defense ministry said his wife would be investigated by state prosecutors for alleged human rights violation.
Initially, Park Chan-ju, 59, was accused of abusing power, but a military court allowed investigators to arrest him in September on charges of receiving bribes from a civilian firm in return for favors in a camp project in 2014. He was also accused of peddling influence for a change of a lieutenant colonel's assignment.
The ministry said Park was indicted on Tuesday. He was dismissed as field army commander of the 2nd Operations Command when the military opened an investigation into allegations he and his wife abused authority to treat house-keeping soldiers like slaves at their official residence.
Public anger erupted in August when investigators found that soldiers assigned to his residence were forced to collect golf balls and tend a kitchen garden. One soldier was ordered to wear an electronic bracelet for quick calls.
The Military Human Rights Center for Korea has insisted that Park and his wife had been engaged in habitual "Gapjil" which means an abuse of power such as mistreatment, arrogant behavior, crude talk, character assassination, and insults.
The watchdog claimed that an unspecified number of soldiers had been treated unfairly at Park's residence while being mobilized for laundry, ironing, housekeeping, toilet cleaning, and other private affairs. Especially, the wife was accused of treating them like slaves.
reporter
Lim Chang-won
cwlim34@ajunews.com
