Prosecutors summon Hanjin group chairman for questioning

By Lim Chang-won Posted : June 27, 2018, 10:03 Updated : June 27, 2018, 10:03

A file picture shows Hanjin Group chairman Cho Yang-ho. [Yonhap News Photo]


SEOUL -- Prosecutors summoned Hanjin Group head Cho Yang-ho for questioning about alleged tax evasion and embezzlement this week in a probe that followed a barrage of interrogations by law enforcement authorities into various illegal activities by his wife and two daughters.

As a criminal suspect, Cho, 69, will be quizzed on Thursday, the office of prosecutors in Seoul said Wednesday. The interrogation was based on complaints from tax authorities that the Hanjin group chairman has evaded taxes. He is also suspected of embezzling company money to create a slush fund.

After Hanjin group founder Cho Choong-hoon died in 2002, his eldest son, Cho Yang-ho, inherited Korean Air, the country's flag carrier, to become group chairman. The founder was once accused of evading taxes when he illegally transferred wealth to one daughter and four sons before his death.

Last month, the founder's offerings, including Cho Yang-ho, started paying back taxes after they belatedly found taxes estimated at 85.2 billion won ($72.2 million) were not paid when they inherited assets abroad. They transmitted 19.2 billion won to tax authorities and promised to pay the remainder in the next five years.

Hanjin has seen its image plunging due to a scandal involving the chairman's youngest daughter, Cho Hyun-min, who allegedly threw a glass cup and sprayed plum juice during a business meeting with advertising agency officials on March 16. She told investigators that she lost her temper because the advertising company did not properly answer her questions.

The scandal fueled widespread public anger, leading to multiple investigations into illegal activities by the chairman's wife and two daughters who have been questioned on charges of creating a slush fund, evading taxes, bringing in luxury foreign goods illegally, abusing and assaulting company employees and others.

Despite strong public demands for punishment, no family members have been arrested as court judges were reluctant to issue arrest warrants, citing no possibility of running away or destroying evidence.

Last week, a court in Seoul rejected a request from prosecutors to arrest the chairman's wife, Lee Myung-Hee, on charges of illegally hiring Filipino housekeepers without proper visas. She was also accused of verbally and physically assaulting company employees, housekeepers, flight attendants and security guards at her home.

Lee has been widely criticized as a typical example of "Gapjil" that means an abuse of power such as mistreatment, arrogant behavior, crude talk, character assassination, and insults.

Earlier, police accused Lee of hurling a pair of pruning shears at a security guard in his house for failing to take care of the house door properly, kicking a chauffeur for a mistake in the street, beating a gardener and slapping a construction worker.

Cho Hyun-ah, the eldest daughter, was also questioned by customs officials for bringing in personal goods purchased overseas without paying taxes. She was once 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.
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