$3.5 Million in Bribes Tied to F-20 Sale Push
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SEOUL — Authorities today arrested a South Korean businessman and accused him of taking $3.5 million in bribes from the U.S.-based Northrop Corp. to promote the sale of the company’s fighter planes.
There was no immediate comment from the company.
Lee Min Ha allegedly collaborated with a former presidential bodyguard, Park Jong Kyu, who acted as an agent for Northrop in trying to sell 200 F-20s to South Korea, according to prosecution officials. Park, a relative of Lee, died in 1985.
Prosecutors said the Los Angeles-based company reportedly agreed to pay Park $55 million, or 2% of the value of the planes, if the sales were made.
Lee, 57, a former president of Dongyang Express Bus Co., told prosecutors he received $2 million from Park and $1.5 million directly from Northrop in 1986.
The American company was unable to sell the F-20s after two planes crashed in demonstration flights in South Korea and in Canada.
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