NEW YORK (Reuters) – A former civilian employee at a U.S. Army facility in South Korea has been arrested on charges of receiving $400,000 in kickbacks from military contractors, federal prosecutors in Manhattan said on Monday.
Young Beom Kim, 62, was responsible for overseeing construction contracts at the Army Garrison Yongsan/Casey from 2017 to 2021. Prosecutors said he made sure contracts for equipment such as blast doors designed to protect Army personnel from an attack went to companies that had paid him kickbacks.
The Yongsan/Casey facility is located near the North Korean border.
Kim, a U.S. citizen and resident of South Korea, is expected to make an initial appearance in Manhattan federal court later on Monday. He is charged with wire fraud, bribery, and money laundering.
(Reporting by Luc Cohen in New York, editing by Deepa Babington)