United Future Party: "Eastar Jet Employees' Wages Delayed for 5 Months... What Is Founder and Lawmaker Lee Sang-jik Doing?"

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Lee Ji-eun] As Eastar Jet employees who have not been paid for five months demand accountability from the founder, Lee Sang-jik, a member of the Democratic Party of Korea, the United Future Party also raised its voice, insisting that Lee must resolve the unpaid wages issue.

Hwang Gyu-hwan, deputy spokesperson for the United Future Party, pointed out on the 23rd in a statement, "Lee Sang-jik, a member of the ruling Democratic Party and founder of Eastar Jet, has failed to pay wages to 1,600 employees for five months."

Deputy spokesperson Hwang said, "During the process of Eastar Jet's sale to Jeju Air, unpaid wages amounting to about 25 billion won occurred, and the company even demanded that employees forgo part of their unpaid wages. The workers are urging Lee, the founder and de facto owner of Eastar Jet, to step up and resolve the issue, but Lee has consistently responded with evasive remarks such as 'the unpaid wages are not related to me' and 'Jeju Air should be responsible,' effectively shirking responsibility."

Hwang added, "Not only are Lee's daughter and son the largest shareholders of Eastar Jet, but Lee's close associates are also placed in key positions, so saying 'it's not my concern' is an evasion of responsibility. A member of the National Assembly, who should embrace and resolve the pain of the people, is irresponsibly blaming only the buyer despite the sale price reaching 54.5 billion won," he criticized.

He continued, "In the previous 20th National Assembly, the Democratic Party repeatedly introduced numerous bills calling for the eradication of unpaid wages. If those calls were sincere, then not only Lee but also the government and ruling party must directly step up and take responsible actions to solve the problem," he added.

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