[Photo by Yoo Dae-gil]
SEOUL -- Just 45 minutes past midnight, Lee Myung-hee, the wife of Korean Air Chairman Cho Yang-ho was released Tuesday after a grueling 15-hour police interrogation into alleged misconduct, assault and other charges.
TV footages showed the 69-year-old stating brief remarks on her apology as she walked out of a police station in central Seoul. She is suspected of assaulting employees of Hanjin, a family-run conglomerate known as chaebol, which controls the country's top flag carrier.
Allegations about her insulting remarks and abusive treatment of her personal staff and construction workers renovating her home fueled public anger at a time when her two daughters were investigated.
Police have secured testimonies from Hanjin employees and others that Lee cursed, screamed and physically abused them, sometimes kicking and slapping and even throwing a pair of scissors.
The interrogation was the latest in a series of investigations by law enforcement authorities into the ruling family's illegal activities, abuse of power, assaults, tax evasion and smuggling of luxury goods.
Police have questioned Lee's youngest daughter, Chu Hyun-min, on charges of assault. She lost her temper during a business meeting on March 16 and threw a glass cup at an advertising company official. Many South Koreans saw it as emblematic of a generation of spoilt and arrogant offsprings of chaebol owners.
Last week, Lee’s eldest daughter, Cho Hyun-ah, who formerly served as Korean Air vice president in charge of cabin service, was quizzed by immigration authorities over allegations that she and her mother have illegally hired Filipino housemaids at their homes.
Cho Hyun-ah was arrested in 2014 for an onboard tantrum when served macadamia nuts in a bag rather than a bowl. She was imprisoned for a year for violating aviation law but she was released in May 2015 after an appeals court suspended her sentence.
Korean Air employees and activists have held a series of rallies calling for the resignation of Cho Yang-ho and his family to ensure transparent corporate governance.
This story was contributed by Jazin Wee, an editorial assistant, and edited by Lim Chang-won.
reporter
Lim Chang-won
cwlim34@ajunews.com
