Korean Air chairman’s wife to be grilled by police over alleged violence
SEOUL — The wife of Korean Air Chairman Cho Yang-ho is expected to be questioned by police on Monday over allegations that she used verbal and physical violence against the company’s workers.
Lee Myung-hee, 69, is the third member of the family to be grilled by police over the alleged mistreatment of construction workers and employees, along with her two daughters.
The Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency said it has gathered testimonies from 10 victims who said they were illtreated and abused by Lee. It is reviewing whether to press charges on violations of the law including physical violence, business obstruction, habitual assault and violence involving authority.
While physical violence cannot be punished against the will of the victim, other charges could be subject to punishment without the victim’s consent.
According to the police, all the victims wanted Lee to be punished, but there is also a possibility of Lee reaching a settlement in Monday’s investigation.
On May 6, police indicted Lee without detention over alleged physical and verbal abuse, after gathering testimonies from 10 victims including construction workers, housekeepers and guards. They started investigation into the case in late April, after video clips and recordings allegedly showed Lee’s misbehavior.
One of the video clips allegedly showed Lee aggressively pulling an employee’s arm, shouting while pointing at employees and throwing a pile of paper onto the ground, at a construction site of Grand Hyatt Incheon in 2014. She also reportedly fired a hotel employee for calling her a “grandmother”.
There was also a voice recording that allegedly showed Lee using abusive language against a construction worker who was working on the remodeling of her house in 2013.
Her two daughters are also being investigated for similar incidents and other irregularities. Cho Hyun-ah, the heiress of Korean Airlines notorious for the “nut rage” scandal, was questioned by the immigration office on Thursday over a fresh allegation that she illegally hired at least 20 Filipino maids.
Cho Hyun-ah on Thursday bowed and apologized for “causing troubles” before entering a Korea Immigration Service office in Seoul for questioning.
In December 2014, Cho got angry after she was served macadamia nuts in a bag instead of on a dish and her tantrum forced the Korean Air plane to return to a boarding gate at New York’s John F. Kennedy Airport. She was released from jail in South Korea in May 2015 after the top court suspended her sentence over the case.
Police also conducted an inquiry into Cho’s younger sister, Cho Hyun-min on May 1, over allegations of assault and obstruction of business. The former Korean Air senior executive was revealed to have taken abusive actions, including abusive language, against her company’s workers.
a former Korean Air senior executive