Korean Air faces investigation over unfair business practice

The scandal at the embattled Korean Air has spread into an investigation by the nation’s antitrust watchdog into the group’s alleged unfair business practices. It is the latest line of investigations by the authorities sparked by allegations that Cho Hyun-min, a senior VP at the airline, threw water in an advertising agency employee’s face at a business meeting. “We started an investigation (into Korean Air) on Friday,” the Fair Trade Commission said Tuesday. “A total of 30 investigators are currently on site looking into charges related to transit duties of in-flight goods and the owner family’s making unfair profits.” Making unfair profits refers to when a company trades with its owner family or an affiliate owned by the owner family at a lower price or awards contracts solely to the affiliate, according to the FTC. On the same day that the FTC launched its investigation, the Seoul police began an investigation into Lee Myung-hee, the wife of Chairman Cho. The Seoul police said it had received complaints that she frequently verbally and physically abused employees. <br/>