U.S. Department of Justice

New Jersey Man Pleads Guilty to Paying $100,000 in Bribes to Korean Government

A New Jersey man who controlled two U.S.-based companies pleaded guilty Thursday for paying a total of $100,000 in bribes to a Korean government official in order to obtain and retain contracts with the Defense Acquisition Program Administration (DAPA), a state-owned and state-controlled agency within the Republic of Korea’s Ministry of National Defense.  

Deck Won Kang (Kang), 50, of Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey, pleaded guilty by videoconference before U.S. District Judge Claire C. Cecchi to an information charging him with one count of violating the anti-bribery provisions of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA).

Kang controlled two U.S.-based companies that provided goods and services, including naval equipment and technology, to DAPA.  According to admissions made in connection with his guilty plea, from in or around January 2009 through in or around February 2013, Kang engaged in a bribery scheme in order for his companies to obtain and retain business with DAPA. 

Kang admitted that he promised to provide a high-ranking official in the Korean Navy and a procurement official for DAPA with something of value when the official left public office.  In exchange, the Korean official provided Kang with non-public information relating to the contracts in furtherance of Kang’s companies obtaining the contracts.  Kang admitted that in order to fulfill his corrupt promise to the Korean official, between in or around April 2012 and in or around February 2013, at the official’s direction following the official’s retirement from DAPA, Kang caused a series of bribe payments totaling $100,000 to be wired from a bank account controlled by Kang in the United States to a bank account in Australia for the benefit of the Korean official.

The FBI’s Newark Field office conducted the investigation.  Trial Attorney Della Sentilles of the Criminal Division’s Fraud Section and Assistant U.S. Attorney Andrew Kogan of the District of New Jersey prosecuted the case.The Justice Department’s Office of International Affairs assisted with the case.

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