The Korean government has now responded to the New York Times story that exposed the fraud being committed in Iraq by members of the Korean military:

South Korea’s Ministry of National Defense rebutted claims by U.S. media outlets that some of its soldiers had “robbed” part of the $74-million American-financed reconstruction funds in the Kurdish controlled city of Irbil in Iraq through kickbacks from Kurdish contractors.

Won Tae-jae, spokesman for the ministry, said some U.S. newspapers distorted the bribery case as an incident compromising the Korea-U.S. alliance.

He said it remains unclear whether or not the money given to South Korean officers was from the U.S. reconstruction funds, called the Commanders’ Emergency Response Program (CERP) or the $88-million South Korean-financed funds for the medical and rehabilitation programs.

“South Korean and U.S. authorities have closely consulted on this case from the beginning, and the U.S. has already recognized South Korean efforts to uncover this incident,” Won told reporters. “Therefore, it’s not correct to say Seoul and Washington are in tension over this case.”  [Korea Times]