By The AAFES commander Major General Essex has vowed to prosecute thoughs involved in the SSRT corruption scandal:
Garza said Air Force Maj. Gen. Paul W. Essex, AAFES commander, “has given our general counsel the authority and the guidance to prosecute violators that have gone and broken our public trust and our customers’ trust, and to prosecute them to the furthest extent.â€
Also, he said, “I’m sure that General Essex would not allow a company that has violated the trust†of our customers “to continue to operate for us.â€
SSRT on the other hand is claiming everything is hunky dory:
An SSRT official said his Internet and phone service company can do more to improve service to U.S. military customers on the peninsula, but denied its prices are out of line and that its service is substandard.
Justin Ryu, business administration division manager for Samsung Rental Corp. Ltd., or SSRT, also said the company does not exploit the fact that most USFK customers are transient. Rather, he said, SSRT works hard to fix service problems in a timely manner and considers the schedules and working conditions of U.S. military customers.
Really? Tell that to all the soldiers and airman getting screwed by your corrupt company. The Stars and Stripes really nailed it with this information:
Here is a list of SSRT’s monthly prices for Internet service on various U.S. military installations in South Korea :
- Cable modem service, $41, available at all installations except Osan and Kunsan air bases.
- At Osan and Kunsan air bases, DSL service is $39.95.
At Osan, dial-up Internet is also available, for $13.90 per month.
Web sites for several leading South Korea telecommunications companies showed the following monthly rates (converted from won to dollars) for basic Internet service:
- Korea Telecom Corp.: ADSL service with no contract, $32; for contracts that range from one to three years, $26.69 to $29.90.
- Hanaro Telecom Inc.: DSL without contract, $29.90; for contracts of one to three years, $26.91 to $29.
- Powercomm: Basic DSL without contract, $31.50; for contracts of one to three years, $26.69 to $29.92.
I’m fairly confident the US authorites will send the corrupt AAFES employees to jail, but will anything be done by the Korean authorities to punish the corrupt SSRT officials? I seriously doubt it. Corrupt businessmen are nothing new in Korea and ripping off USFK isn’t really considered a big deal by many Koreans because they figure the Americans are rich anyway. At least the corrupt AAFES officials will at least get punished.Â
2:28 pm on January 22nd, 2007 1
Mark, as I said earlier in a comment why MP’s get stoopid at times. It was always because someone read a rip-off like this and if they see that they are going to get away with it, Why can not they?
I know 2 wrongs to not make a right, but this is what they told me, after they were busted. They saw the officers get away with it and why can’t they?
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8:48 am on February 4th, 2007 2
AAFES, more specifically the STAR card, is one of the biggest ripoffs. The employees, thru email, thru telephone, lie. Or, truley, they are vindictive or lazy. AAFES places the charges on the STAR Card immed after purchase, so if you never received the merchandise due to the vendor not alerting AAFES, or for the most part, they do let AAFES know, yet AFFES charges for this no longer existing merchandise. It takes an act of congress to get any of lazy people to do their job.
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11:33 am on February 4th, 2007 3
I have heard plenty of horror stories about the STAR card and that is why I don’t own one and recommend to soldiers not to get one.
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6:28 pm on February 28th, 2007 4
[...] Choy who worked for AAFES for 36 years has been fired over his involvement in the SSRT corruption scandal. He joins his AAFES partner in crime Lee Holloway in the unemployment line. The Air Force OSI [...]
6:09 pm on January 12th, 2008 5
[...] The SSRT corruption scandal is not like the blackmarketing or fraud with USFK building contracts we have seen in the past because of its direct targeting of soldiers and airmen to rip off. It is truly disgusting and hopefully every American and Korean involved in this goes to jail. [...]