YONGSAN GARRISON, South Korea — The No. 2 commander of fighting forces in South Korea was questioned overnight Thursday about his possible misuse of public funds, a Defense Ministry spokesman said.
Gen. Shin Il-soon was questioned from 8 p.m. Thursday until 5 a.m. Friday, said Brig. Gen. Nam Dae-yeon. South Korean news reports stated Shin was called to the Defense Ministry again Friday for questioning. Defense Ministry officials, however, refused to talk to Stars and Stripes on Friday afternoon.
Reports differed over the amount of money in question, ranging from $8,500 to $128,550. Nam declined to comment on an exact figure.
The expenditures allegedly occurred when the officer was a lieutenant general. Military prosecutors within the Defense Ministry are focusing their investigation on the general and those around him, officials said.
Shin, a four-star Army general, works at Yongsan Garrison, the headquarters for the U.S. military in South Korea. He’s second in command of forces under U.S. Gen. Leon J. LaPorte, who would have operational control of all forces if war broke out. Shin also heads the Ground Component Command.
Shin has worked on Yongsan Garrison since April 2003. Before that, he worked at South Korean Army headquarters, where he was deputy chief of Army Command, according to an online biography.
Shin and LaPorte head the Combined Forces Command, an integrated warfighting unit composed of South Korean and U.S. military officers in a tiered, balanced structure.
U.S. Forces Korea officials deferred comment on the case to the Defense Ministry.
