A former Navy chief was put under arrest Sunday on suspicion of involvement in the supply of shoddy parts for the construction of South Korea's first salvage ship.

Hwang Ki-chul is suspected of helping a parts supplier win a contract in the construction of the 3,500-ton Tongyeong despite being aware of irregularities in the evaluation and selection process.

Hwang was in charge of the project at the Defense Acquisition Program Administration (DAPA) during the selection process in 2009.

Prosecutors believe the head of the parts supplier bribed DAPA officials to win the bidding competition, leading Hwang's subordinates to draw up fake quality assurance documents for the company's subpar sonar system.

"There is evidence of the charges, and the reason and need for the arrest have been recognized," Judge Jho Yoon-hee at the Seoul Central District Court said in issuing the arrest warrant.

Hwang is also accused of incurring financial losses to the government as a result of the shoddy project.

The former Navy chief has denied the allegations, claiming he had no say in the selection process as the decision was made at lower levels.

The Tongyeong was found to be fraught with problems and unable to participate in rescue operations during the April 2014 ferry tragedy that killed more than 300 people.

Construction of the country's first homegrown salvage ship began in 2012 with a budget of 160 billion won ($142 million) after North Korea torpedoed the South Korean warship Cheonan in 2010. The aim was to enable the military to effectively carry out rescue operations and tow away damaged vessels. (Yonhap)