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3 ROK soldiers convicted of graft
(Agencies)
Updated: 2009-05-06 07:46

SEOUL -- Three South Korean army personnel have been convicted of accepting or seeking bribes while serving as part of a US-led alliance aimed at rebuilding Iraq, an official said Tuesday.

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One of the three, a captain, was sentenced last month by a South Korean military court to three years in prison for taking $25,000 and a digital camera worth $800 from a local firm involved in construction projects in the northern city of Irbil in return for administrative favors, said an official at South Korea's Defense Ministry.

Two others - a master sergeant and a major - received suspended jail terms for demanding bribes from other Iraqi firms, said the ministry official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, citing department policy. The two failed to get any money, he said.

All three convicted personnel have appealed the rulings, which were handed down April 3, the official said.

They belonged to a South Korean contingent stationed in Irbil between 2004-2008 as part of US-led multinational forces. The area is largely populated by ethnic Kurds.

At the height of its deployment, the South Korean unit - code-named "Zaytun", or "olive" in Arabic - had about 3,600 troops in Iraq, making it the second-largest US coalition partner in the country after Britain.

The South Korean government provided 88 billion won to its contingent to help support reconstruction and medical programs, the official said. Under current exchange rates, 88 billion won is about $69 million.