Korean Air’s executives accused in Airbus corruption probe

Seoul — South Korean prosecutors on Thursday launched a probe into allegations that Korean Air's CEO and his sister are responsible for a former executive's taking payments from Airbus in return for buying that company's aircraft.

Airbus has said it would pay a record $4bn in fines in 2020 after reaching a plea bargain with prosecutors in Britain, France and US over accusations of bribery and corruption stretching back at least 15 years.

A French document detailing Airbus' settlement said Airbus had agreed to pay €15m to a former top Korean Air executive in return for the airline's purchase of 10 A330 jets under contracts dating 1996-2000, then delivered part of the cash through a fake consulting contract using a middleman.

"[Airbus] delivered rebates worth a total of 17.4-billion won on three occasions from 2010 to 2013 to the Korean Air side,” the civic group People's Solidarity for Participatory Democracy said on Wednesday as it reported the allegation to prosecutors.

The civic group said Hanjin Group chair Walter Cho and his sister, Heather Cho, directors of Korean Air at that time, should be charged with breach of trust and embezzlement because they were involved in the purchase of aircraft and the payments.

A Seoul Central District Prosecutor's Office spokesperson said the office had launched an inquiry into the matter, without elaborating.

Walter Cho and other current Hanjin Group executives said they had nothing to do with the Airbus payments, Korean Air said in a statement, speaking for Cho.

Korean Air has recently requested information from Airbus to check past facts, plans to conduct an internal audit and take legal action if needed, it said.

However, “we will not sit idly by and watch actions that negatively affect the company's value by defaming the current management without grounds, and we will also seek civil and criminal measures,” Korean Air said.

Heather Cho said in a statement through her lawyer that she was not involved in any illegal decision-making, and would co-operate in clarifying the facts.

Walter Cho and Heather Cho are locked in a proxy fight in Korean Air's parent firm, Hanjin Kal, before a March 27 AGM, when shareholders will vote on who leads the conglomerate.

Reuters