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Former Managers of U.S. Army Hotel Admit to Theft, Bribery, Corruption

By: Teresa Tennyson

Mar 20, 2024

A former hotel manager of a U.S. Army hotel in South Korea pled guilty to charges of theft, conspiracy, and bribery, according to a Department of Justice press release dated March 13, 2024.

In his guilty plea, Bon Ku admitted to taking kickbacks of up to 20% of contract value from South Korean companies providing services to Dragon Hill Lodge, a hotel located at Yongsan Garrison. Yongsan Garrison is a U.S. Army camp that provides quality-of-life services to soldiers and their families posted throughout South Korea.

Kickbacks and Theft

In exchange for kickbacks, Ku advocated on behalf of South Korean companies bidding on contracts at Dragon Hill Lodge to U.S. officials responsible for awarding those contracts.

In a separate charge, Ku admitted to conspiring with fellow manager Donald Gower to steal money from the hotel’s recycling program. For his part in the scheme, Gower pled guilty on Sept. 15, 2023, according to the Justice Department. Ku previously pled not guilty to charges related to the recycling conspiracy in January.

Dragon Hill Lodge is one of four Armed Forces Recreation Center Resorts. These resorts are self-supporting, relying on funds generated from business operations, including recycling, to fulfill their mission of providing affordable vacation opportunities to current and former service members and their families.

Both Managers Face Five Years

According to his LinkedIn profile, Ku was the Rooms Division Director of Dragon Hill Lodge. Ku’s sentencing will be on June 18. Both Ku and Gower face up to five years in prison.
The FBI and the U.S. Army’s Criminal Investigation Division jointly investigated Ku and Gower’s wrongdoing.

Related Tags
Corruption Bribery Military Report Scam
Teresa Tennyson
Teresa Tennyson is the Editor-in-Chief for The Daily Muck. As a journalist, her work has appeared in Veteran.com, The Military Wallet, Mortgage Research Center and Yahoo Finance. She has a passion for factual and fair reporting. Along with The Daily Muck’s writing team, she reports on fraud, scams, and corruption and researches practical advice on how people can protect themselves and their communities from these crimes.

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