Bribery allegations still hang over cable deal

[unhappycamper]

Bribery allegations still hang over cable deal
By Franklin Fisher, Stars and Stripes
Pacific edition, Sunday, November 11, 2007


OSAN AIR BASE, South Korea — Although scandal-wracked SSRT is no longer providing home Internet service at U.S. military installations in South Korea, the fallout over bribery allegations against its chief executive is far from over.

But customer discontent has eased from a year ago, now that LG Dacom has taken over SSRT’s contract with the Army and Air Force Exchange Service.

“I’m actually pretty happy with it,” said Air Force Staff Sgt. Timothy Zink, 25, of Arkansas City, Kan. He’s with the 51st Security Forces Squadron.

~snip~

On Jan. 31, SSRT transferred the rights to its contract with AAFES to LG Dacom (whose contract runs through 2019) through a legal process called novation, used when a company can no longer fulfill its contract.

AAFES initially awarded SSRT the $206 million, 10-year contract in 2001, but by May 2003 SSRT became the subject of repeated customer complaints of alleged price gouging and chronically poor service. In 2003, AAFES extended the contract with the company from 2011 to 2019.

In January, SSRT chief executive Jeong Gi-hwan was indicted in South Korean court on charges he bribed two AAFES officials, H. Lee Holloway and Clifton W. Choy, so he could hold the lucrative contract.


Rest of article at: http://www.stripes.com/article.asp?section=104&article=50178