In the Courts

On Oct. 22, 2010, in United States v. Jeong, No. 09-11127, the Fifth Circuit affirmed the convictions of Gi-Hwan Jeong, a South Korean national, rejecting his appeal that his prosecution in the U.S., after prosecution and conviction in South Korea, was barred. He had invoked a provision of the Convention on Combating Bribery of Foreign Public Officials in International Business Transactions, Dec. 17, 1997, S. Treaty Doc. No. 105-433 (1988) (hereinafter the “Convention”).

In both his country and in the U.S., Jeong was accused of bribing U.S. officials as part of his company's efforts to secure and maintain a telecommunications contract with the Army and Air Force Exchange Service (AAFES). The latter, a joint military command of the Department of Defense, provides goods and services to U.S. military personnel and their families around the world. Jeong's company, Samsung Rental Company, Limited (SSRT), secured the contract after paying bribes to two AAFES employees. Even after securing the contract, Jeong continued to pay bribes to the AAFES employees, in exchange for their support of SSRT amid allegations of poor performance. Jeong's actions were uncovered after a former SSRT employee reported them to the South Korean office of the U.S. Air Force Office of Special Investigations (AFOSI).