Chae I-bae: "Korean Air Continued Aircraft Rebate Practices Until Recently"

[Asia Economy Reporter Yoo Je-hoon] On the 4th, Minsaengdang lawmaker Chae E-bae urged authorities to investigate Korean Air, claiming that the airline had received rebates related to aircraft purchases until recently.

On the same day, during the plenary session of the National Assembly's Legislation and Judiciary Committee, Lawmaker Chae stated to Minister Chu Mi-ae, "Through investigative authorities in the United States, the United Kingdom, and France, the Korean Air aircraft rebate case has been confirmed."

According to Lawmaker Chae, in January, the European aircraft manufacturer Airbus agreed to pay fines totaling 3.6 billion euros (approximately 4.7 trillion KRW) to the French National Financial Prosecutor's Office (PNF), the UK's Serious Fraud Office (SFO), and the U.S. Department of Justice and Department of Defense.

This was due to investigations by these agencies revealing that Airbus provided rebates to aviation authorities and airlines in several countries through intermediaries.

Lawmaker Chae pointed out, "According to the French judgment, Korean Air purchased 10 A330 aircraft between 1996 and 2000, during which Airbus promised to pay approximately 15 million USD (about 18 billion KRW) to senior executives of the airline. This promise was fulfilled through payments made to Korean Air senior executives in 2010, 2011, and 2013."

Lawmaker Chae emphasized, "The 18 billion KRW received as rebates is suspected to have been used to create overseas slush funds," and stressed, "An investigation into this case must also be conducted domestically."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.