The son of a former Navy chief was arrested Wednesday over allegations that he and his father took bribes from a shipbuilding conglomerate four years ago, investigators said.

Retired Adm. Jung Ok-geun and his son allegedly took bribes from STX Group, a now financially troubled shipping and shipbuilding conglomerate, in the form of sponsorship to a yacht event in October 2008, a government anti-corruption task force said.

The group's two subsidiaries, which produce high-speed vessels and engines for naval vessels, paid 700 million won (US$647,000) to the event organized by a company whose majority stake was owned by Jung's eldest son, investigators said.

The yacht company went out of business shortly thereafter, raising suspicions that it may have been a paper company.

Investigators said they have collected enough evidence to believe that the sponsorship may have been a cover-up for bribes.

They allege that STX may have paid Jung and his son to award it contracts for the nation's shipbuilding projects.

A former Navy commander, Yun Yeon, was also arrested over allegedly collaborating with the father-son duo. He currently works as an adviser at STX, investigators said.

Investigators have earlier interrogated then head of STX, Kang Duk-soo, who decided to sponsor the yacht event. He is currently serving a six-year jail sentence for embezzlement and malpractice.

Last November, the government launched the task force of prosecutors, military officers and state officials to root out corruption in the defense industry.

The move came after an expensive indigenous Navy salvage ship failed to rescue those missing from a ferry disaster in April, which claimed more than 300 lives. (Yonhap)