Three military officers have been indicted on bribery charges for glossing over defects in the examination of three submarines in return for future employment at the shipbuilder, prosecutors said Sunday.

A 56-year-old retired Navy colonel, identified only by his family name Lim, and a 44-year-old retired Air Force lieutenant colonel, only known as Sung, were additionally charged with bribery for being employed at Hyundai Heavy Industries Co. after being discharged from the military, said a prosecutor on the special task force probing defense contract irregularities.

Lim and Sung had already been detained and brought to trial for embezzlement as they looked over the fuel cells that malfunctioned and stopped working suddenly in the submarines, the prosecutors said.

They are also suspected of not properly reporting defective antennas for satellite communications.

Another Navy colonel, identified only by his family name Lee, has also been brought to trial for bribery involving the case. The 55-year-old has been indicted without physical detention.

The three were in charge of evaluating the quality of three 1,800-ton submarines before the vessels were handed over to the Navy in 2009.

They are accused of asking a Hyundai executive for employment twice in return for the smooth takeover of the submarines by the Navy. (Yonhap)