[JURIST] Over 60 South Koreans were indicted [press release] Wednesday in an investigation into corruption involving defense procurement projects. Of the indicted individuals, two are former navy chiefs of staff, 10 are current or former military generals, one is a former vice minister, and many more are businessmen and brokers. The charges include, among other things, leaking military secrets and fabricating official documents. The individuals were involved in projects supplying the military with defense equipment such as body armor and rifles, which was to be loaded at navy ships. The Joint Investigation Team for Arms Procurement Corruption made the announcement and was put together approximately seven months ago. According to the Corruption Perceptions Index 2014 [materials] by Transparency International [advocacy website], South Korea currently ranks 43 out of 175 countries and territories – 1 being the least corrupt and 175 being the most.

Corruption [JURIST backgrounder] has been an issue world-wide in recent years. On Monday, the Romanian Prime Minister, Victor Ponta [BBC profile], was charged [JURIST report] with corruption for money laundering, tax evasion, and fraud. Earlier this month, India’s Supreme Court [official website] ordered an investigation [JURIST report] into deaths having to do with the so-called “Vyapam Scam” [India Express backgrounder] where members of a professional examination board were accused of receiving bribes to compromise examination and recruitment processes. Also earlier this month, Malaysia’s two main opposition parties called for an emergency sitting [JURIST report] of parliament following allegations of corruption against Prime Minister Najib Razak [official website].