Lee Nak-yeon "Our Party's Lee Sang-jik Must Take Measures Acceptable to the People and Companies" First Mention

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Wondara] Voices are rising within the ruling party and government demanding that Lee Sang-jik, a member of the Democratic Party of Korea, take responsibility for the 'Eastar Jet crisis.' Lee is the founder of Eastar Jet, and his children have recently served as representatives of Eastar Holdings, the largest shareholder of Eastar Jet. Eastar Jet entered a 'shutdown' in March and on the 7th notified 605 employees of mass layoffs.

On the morning of the 14th, Lee Nak-yeon, leader of the Democratic Party of Korea, said at the Supreme Council meeting held at the National Assembly, "Concerns are being raised about the Eastar Jet crisis, whose founder is our party member Lee." He added, "I hope Lee, as the founder and a member of the National Assembly, will take responsible measures that the public and company employees can accept. The party is currently assessing the Eastar Jet issue." This is the first time Lee Nak-yeon has mentioned the Eastar Jet crisis.

Lee also stated, "Among the lawmakers elected in the April 15 general election, there are cases where the assets declared at the time of the election differ from the current declared assets," adding, "Many of these cases can be explained by changes in regulations. For those that cannot, I hope the Central Election Commission will thoroughly investigate regardless of party affiliation and take appropriate measures. Our party will also respond to the Election Commission's actions."

Earlier, Shin Dong-geun, a Supreme Council member of the Democratic Party, said at the party's Supreme Council meeting on the 11th, "The acquisition of Eastar Jet by Jeju Air fell through, resulting in the mass layoff of 605 employees. Active response from the government and ruling party is necessary," and added, "Especially since a member of our party was the founder of Eastar Jet, a more responsible attitude is required." He continued, "Eastar Jet is unable to receive employment maintenance support funds due to a 500 million KRW arrearage in employment insurance premiums, which is heartbreaking. If there is a will to prevent mass layoffs, there will be solutions even if they are not 100% satisfactory. I urge the Democratic Party to actively respond."

On the same day, Kim Hyun-mi, Minister of Land, Infrastructure and Transport, appeared at the full meeting of the National Assembly Land, Infrastructure and Transport Committee and responded to a question from Shim Sang-jung, a member of the Justice Party, regarding the Eastar Jet crisis, stating, "There are significant problems with Eastar Jet's governance structure and conduct after the decision on mergers and acquisitions (M&A)."

Minister Kim said, "Just before the M&A fell through, I met Lee twice in my office," adding, "I told him twice that as the de facto owner, he should take responsible measures, and the aviation office of the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport also repeatedly communicated this to the company through the CEO and others." She added, "I deeply regret that there has been no progress so far."

Meanwhile, the Democratic Party leadership and government, which had remained silent, are issuing related statements about six months after the Eastar Jet crisis erupted, which is interpreted as due to increasing public pressure regarding the issue. On the 11th, the Eastar Jet labor union released recordings and emails revealing that Eastar Jet mobilized its employees to participate in the Democratic Party presidential primary and fundraising for Democratic Party lawmakers. According to these recordings, an Eastar Jet executive known to be a close aide of Lee frequently encouraged employees to participate in the ARS voting to select President Moon Jae-in as the Democratic Party presidential candidate and pressured them to send donations to Kim Tae-nyeon, the Democratic Party floor leader.

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