Bombardier accused of corruption in South Korea

South Korean prosecutors are accusing Canadian aerospace giant Bombardier of making gifts to local officials in the East Asian country as it pursued a metro contract, Radio-Canada public television reported Thursday. The corruption allegations stem from gifts and free trips to Canada offered to civil servants and politicians from the Seoul suburb of Yongin, which chose Bombardier to build an elevated train system, Radio-Canada said, citing the investigation report.
The project itself also faces huge cost overruns. From an original estimate of a little more than $1 billion when the project was first announced in the early 2000s, it could now cost $3.5 billion over 30 years to South Korean taxpayers.