Weather chief to stand trial over bribery

The head of the state weather agency was indicted Tuesday on charges of abusing his power and taking bribes in return for business favors, police said.

Cho Seok-joon, the chief of the Korea Meteorological Administration (KMA), is suspected of helping a particular business win a bid for supplying a new weather instrument by fabricating official documents and leaking relevant bidding information for kickbacks, police said.

The Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency (SMPA) also requested a court-issued warrant to arrest the head of the manufacturer of the aviation weather observation equipment called LIDAR on bribe-offering charges.

The businessman surnamed Kim gave the bribes by not collecting any interest worth 19.34 million won (US$17,469) for some 130 million won borrowed by Cho before assuming his post in February last year, according to the police.

Cho allegedly exerted pressure to change the selection standard for the equipment's observation range to a radius of 10 kilometers from 15 kilometers when the company could not meet the standard, the SMPA said. Following Cho's order, KMA officials allegedly fabricated documents in June last year.

The company eventually won the bid thanks to the eased standard range.

Eleven officials of the KMA and the private company's three employers were also indicted without detention in connection with the alleged illegal business deal, the SMPA said.

Cho previously served as the chief and the advisor of a private weather forecasting center run by Kim's company between June and December, 2008, sources said. (Yonhap News)