The U.S. Justice Dept. has reached agreement with a major Korean construction firm to settle a construction fraud case, charging bribes of military officials and false claims on a large U.S. Army base project in South Korea. In a plea deal, SK Engineering & Construction, Seoul, will pay $68.4 million in criminal and civil fines.
DOJ says SK obtained a large land development contract at the Camp Humphreys base near Seoul in 2008 “worth hundreds of millions” after paying $2.6 million in bribes to an Army Corps of Engineers official. Payments went through a fake Korean contractor SK set up to submit the false documents to the Army to cover up the fraud. Construction of the 3,500-acre base, one of the military’s largest anywhere, is set for completion by 2021 with costs estimated over $11 billion.