Korean Air chief indicted for embezzlement
The head of South Korean flag carrier Korean Air – whose family have been embroiled in multiple scandals including one involving macadamia nuts – was indicted Monday on charges of embezzling tens of millions of dollars and other offences. Prosecutors charged Cho Yang-ho with embezzling more than 20 billion won ($18 million) and unfairly awarding contracts to companies controlled by his family members, according to Yonhap news agency.
The super-wealthy owners of chaebols – the sprawling conglomerates that dominate the world’s 11th-largest economy – often attract controversy, but a series of scandals have made the Cho family one of the most notorious in South Korea.
Cho is the chairman of Hanjin Group, which includes Korean Air and used to own the now-bankrupt Hanjin Shipping line. He was also head of the organising committee for the 2018 Pyeongchang Winter Olympics until stepping down two years before the Games.
The 69-year-old is also accused of taking 152 billion won from the state insurance agency in medical care benefits by illegally running a pharmacy under a borrowed name.
Initially Cho was accused of evading inheritance tax of around 61 billion won when his father, Hanjin’s founder, died in 2002, but prosecutors said the statute of limitations had expired in 2014.
The date for Cho’s trial was not set and he was not detained ahead of the proceedings. (AFP)