The Air Force chief has received “a stern warning” from the Defense Ministry for misconduct and negligence of duty involving budget use, officials said Thursday.
Gen. Choi Cha-kyu, Air Force chief of staff, had been under audit after suspicions mounted over his alleged misuse of public funds.
“Over the course of remodeling the Air Force chief’s office in July 2014, the military was found to have wasted 14 million won ($12,797),” said a ministry official in charge of the audit.
“Choi also either caused or turned a blind eye to spending some 200 million won more in renovating the Air Force’s headquarters earlier this year,” the official said, adding those in charge of the renovation projects will “face punishment” after additional investigations.
The commander was also found to have violated regulations on the use of official vehicles, as “his wife and a son used them multiple times for personal use,” while giving drivers fussy orders, according to the audit results.
The ministry, however, dismissed suspicions that he allegedly embezzled 3 million won from the unit maintenance budget between 2008 and 2009 while serving as commander of the 10th Fighter Wing, as it failed to “secure any convincing pieces of evidence.”
Apologizing for “causing controversy,” Choi, who has rejected the allegations, said he “humbly accepted the audit results” and vowed to behave better. (Yonhap)
