State auditors demanded Wednesday that the Defense Ministry take disciplinary action against Chief of Naval Operations Adm. Hwang Ki-chul in connection with a corruption scandal concerning the acquisition of a salvage ship.

The Board of Audit and Inspection said that Hwang was “negligent” in reviewing the documents related to the purchase of a part for the 3,500-ton ship, Tongyeong, while working as a senior procurement official in 2009.

Hwang has been suspected of having given preferential treatment to a U.S. firm that won the contract to provide the ship’s hull-mounted sonar system. As the sonar in question and an ultrasonic camera of the remotely operated vehicle failed to meet the military requirements, the Navy has refused to accept the vessel, which was already constructed in 2012.

Media have also raised suspicion that there was some corruption involved in the purchase of the sonar, given that the sonar, which costs only 200 million won ($182,000), was purchased at 4.1 billion won.

The scandal involving the vessel erupted after the ferry Sewol sank off the coast of Jindo Island in April, leaving more than 300 passengers dead or missing.

The ship, which was set to be delivered to the Navy last December, was not deployed on schedule ― which meant the ship could not be mobilized for the operations to rescue victims in the ferry disaster. Calls then increased for the state authorities to verify why the deployment was delayed.

Prosecutors investigated the case to see if there was any corruption in the process of acquiring the ship. In the probe, the prosecution in October arrested a former procurement official who allegedly received a kickback when the ship’s sonar system was purchased from the U.S. firm.

Last month, the military decided to deliver the salvage ship to the Navy as early as this month, even though replacements for the two parts have not yet been installed, as the current 46-year-old vessel needs to be replaced to ensure sailors’ safety.

As the ship failed to meet the Navy’s required operational capabilities, it has sat idle in the shipyard of its manufacturer, Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering, on Geojedo Island.

The military authorities agreed to make the delivery by the end of 2014. They also agreed to delay the target year of the deployment of the ultrasonic camera and the sonar to December 2015 and September 2017, respectively, and to allow the ship to be delivered to the Navy without the two parts as early as this month.

Under the previous delivery requirements, the ship could only be delivered to the Navy with the complete sonar system and remotely operated vehicle. But last month’s decision paved the way for an early delivery of the vessel.

By Song Sang-ho (sshluck@heraldcorp.com)