Ex-rear admiral in alleged graft case jumps off bridge

A former Navy rear admiral under investigation over his alleged involvement in a defense industry graft case jumped off a bridge in a Seoul suburb on Wednesday, police said.

The Gyeonggi Goyang Police Station said an unidentified person called at 8:10 a.m. to say the 61-year-old man, identified only by his surname Ham, plunged off the bridge over the Han River that flows through Seoul into the Yellow Sea.

Ham, also a former executive member of a defense firm, was scheduled to face questioning this morning. Prosecutors said they considered him a witness, rather than a suspect.

The details of the case he was involved in were not immediately clear. He was once in charge of the Navy’s shipbuilding division.

“We send our condolences to the bereaved family for this tragedy,” an official investigating the case said, asking not to be named. “Ham never complained about the interrogation process and we’re confident we’ve followed the proper protocol.”

Police said they discovered a car, a suicide note and a pair of shoes near the scene. Professional divers have been deployed to search for the body, they said.

In November, South Korea launched a task force comprised of prosecutors, military officers and government officials to root out corruption in the defense industry.

The move came after an expensive homegrown salvage ship was proved defective at the peak of efforts to save those missing from a ferry disaster last year. The sinking claimed more than 300 lives. (Yonhap)