Customs officials raid Korean Air offices to find tax evasion evidence

By Lim Chang-won Posted : April 23, 2018, 15:12 Updated : April 23, 2018, 15:12

[Yonhap Photo]


SEOUL -- South Korean customs authorities raided the offices of Korean Air Monday to find evidence related to allegations that the family of Hanjin Group head Cho Yang-ho has brought in foreign luxury goods without paying duties through a legitimate loophole at airports.

The search was conducted in Korean Air's headquarters and other offices, two days after customs officials ransacked the residence of Cho and his three children. Cho's family is suspected of avoiding customs duties by disguising individual items as company goods or aircraft parts that were brought in through passages for airline officials at airports.

In a bid to allay widespread public fury, Cho announced his decision Sunday to dismiss her two daughters from their posts at Korean Air and other Hanjin Group units. "As Korean Air Chairman and the head of a family, I have a miserable mind about the inexperienced behavior of my daughter. Everything is my fault," he said in a statement.

Police have conducted a probe into allegations that Cho's younger daughter, Cho Hyun-min, screamed and threw water at a business meeting with advertising agency officials at her office on March 16.

Hyun-min, a Korean Air senior executive who uses her English name, Cho Emily Lee, allegedly lost her temper because the advertising official did not properly answer her questions. Korean Air insisted she threw a cup of water onto the floor, not toward the face. Emily made a series of apologies for her "foolish and imprudent" behavior.

Public fury has been fanned by additional disclosures about Emily's arrogant behavior and insulting remarks at a number of private and business meetings. 

Separately, transport authorities have launched a probe to see whether Emily, who is an American citizen, illegally served as a board member of Hanjin's low-cost carrier Jin Air for six years from March 2010. Foreigners are not allowed to join a board of directors at flag carriers.

 
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