A successful U.S. venture capitalist and the son of a prominent South Korean agricultural scientist has been indicted on charges of bribing a military general.
The Department of Justice (DOJ) announced on May 31 that it had arrested Yongchul “Charlie” Kim, his co-CEO Meghan Messenger, and retired U.S. Navy Admiral and Commander of U.S. Naval Forces Europe and Africa Robert Burke on criminal charges, including bribery.
According to the DOJ, Kim allegedly ran a company, paid Burke a large salary, and guaranteed him employment after he left the Navy to retain a contract for a pilot training program. The DOJ did not disclose the name of the business, but it was identified as Next Jump, based in Manhattan, New York. The company started as an e-commerce venture and now offers a platform for corporate culture and management improvement.
From August 2018 to July 2019, Next Jump provided part of the Navy’s pilot training program, according to the DOJ. The Navy terminated its contract with Next Jump in 2019 and instructed the company to have no contact with Burke. However, Kim met with Burke in Washington, D.C., in July 2021 to reestablish the contract, where Burke agreed with Kim to use his influence as a Navy admiral to reopen the contract between Kim’s company and the Navy, the DOJ said.
Burke also promised to persuade other generals to grant Next Jump more contract opportunities for training programs. Kim estimated the value of the contracts at “triple digit millions,” the DOJ said.
In December of the same year, five months after the two met, Burke directed his officers to sign a $350,000 contract with Kim’s company. After retirement, Burke joined Next Jump in October of the following year, with an annual salary of $500,000 and a grant of 100,000 stock options.
To conceal his relationship with Next Jump from the DOJ investigation, Burke made false statements to the Navy, claiming he played no role in issuing the contract and that Next Jump had offered him employment only after the contract was signed, the DOJ said.
If convicted of the charges, Burke faces a maximum sentence of 30 years in prison, and Kim faces 20 years in prison, according to the DOJ.
Kim formerly worked at global investment bank Morgan Stanley and founded Next Jump in 1994. The company was recognized for its “no fire” policy of zero firing and was named one of the top three healthiest companies by Johns Hopkins University in 2014.
In interviews with various media outlets, Kim has previously credited his father as his inspiration for the company’s cultural innovation. Kim is the eldest son of agricultural scientist Dr. Soonkwon Kim, better known as “Dr. Corn,” who was once considered a potential Nobel Prize candidate for developing “super corn” in the 1970s.
BY KYEONGJUN KIM, HOONSIK WOO [kim.kyeongjun1@koreadaily.com]
