Korean Air boss at it again

– The head of South Korean flag carrier Korean Air – whose family have been embroiled in multiple scandals – was indicted yesterday on charges of embezzling tens of millions of dollars and other offences.

Prosecutors charged Cho Yangho, 69, with embezzling more than 20 billion won (R26o million) and unfairly awarding contracts to companies controlled by his family members, according to Yonhap news agency.

The superwealthy 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 chairperson 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.

He 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, he was accused of evading inheritance tax of 61 billion won when his father, Hanjin’s founder, died in 2002, but prosecutors said the statute of limitations had expired in 2014. – AFP

Seoul