‘Nut rage’s’ mogul mom interrogated

– The matriarch of the troubled Korean Air dynasty was grilled yesterday over allegations she used company resources to illegally hire foreign housekeepers, as a probe into the scandal-hit family widened.

Lee Myung-hee, 69, who was questioned by police last month over multiple assault allegations, was interrogated by immigration authorities over suspicions she hired more than 10 Filipina maids to work at her home on false pretences, claiming they were working for Korean Air. Korean law permits only ethnic Koreans or their spouses to work as housekeepers.

The authorities suspect Lee got the airline to recruit the housekeepers and get them documents. “I didn’t,” she replied to questions on whether she ordered Korean Air officials to hire them, removed evidence by letting them leave the country after the allegations emerged and bought their silence.

A week earlier, a Seoul court turned down a prosecutor’s request to arrest Lee over multiple assault allegations. Lee’s daughters, who were managers at the airline, became online viral sensations for tantrums dubbed the “nut rage” and “water rage”. – AFP