Inkukgong and Eastar Air Crisis... Aviation Industry Also Focuses on National Assembly Audit

Former President Koo Bon-hwan in Spotlight... "Absent Due to Health Reasons"
Intense Debate Expected Over Eastar Air Crisis

Eastar Jet has notified 605 employees of layoffs, raising concerns about mass unemployment in the aviation industry. On the 9th, officials are preparing for an extraordinary shareholders' meeting at Eastar Jet headquarters in Gangseo-gu, Seoul. Photo by Hyunmin Kim kimhyun81@

[Asia Economy Reporter Yu Je-hoon] The aviation industry is focusing on the National Assembly’s audit starting on the 7th. Amid the widespread impact of the novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) crisis on the industry, the year has been shaken by issues such as the 'Incheon International Airport Corporation (In-guk-gong) incident' (the controversy over the regularization of irregular workers at Incheon International Airport Corporation) and the large-scale layoffs at Eastar Jet, creating a minefield of challenges.

According to the industry on the 6th, the National Assembly’s Planning and Finance Committee, Land, Infrastructure and Transport Committee, and Environment and Labor Committee audits will highlight the In-guk-gong incident and the Eastar Jet mass layoff incident as major transportation sector issues.

The issue that the aviation industry is most focused on is the In-guk-gong incident. In particular, attention is centered on former In-guk-gong President Koo Bon-hwan, who has been summoned as a witness before the Planning and Finance Committee and the Environment and Labor Committee. Koo, who took office in April last year, clashed with the regular workers’ union over the In-guk-gong incident and was abruptly dismissed last month on grounds including false reporting of his whereabouts during a typhoon. Many in the industry criticized Koo’s sudden dismissal as a scapegoating move. An industry official said, "For Koo, the first president to be dishonorably dismissed by the corporation, there must be considerable resentment."

However, the situation became somewhat delicate when Koo suddenly submitted a letter of absence to the Environment and Labor Committee citing health reasons. In a phone interview with Asia Economy on the day, Koo said, "Because I have had many concerns related to the regularization process, I developed a retinal problem in my eye. The hospital said treatment can only be done on the 14th, so I had no choice but to submit a letter of absence to the Environment and Labor Committee. As for the Planning and Finance Committee audit scheduled for the 22nd, I will have to see how things go." He added, "Since it is not just a matter of simply attending, considering my health condition, I think it would be difficult."

The Eastar Jet mass layoff incident is also expected to be scrutinized. Earlier, after the M&A with Jeju Air fell through, Eastar Jet notified 605 employees?about half of its workforce?of layoffs under the pretext of pursuing a resale. Particularly, since Eastar Jet’s founder, Independent Assemblyman Lee Sang-jik, is a former member of the Democratic Party, significant political controversy seems inevitable. The People Power Party has already formed a 'Special Committee for Truth Investigation into Assemblyman Lee Sang-jik and Eastar Jet Corruption Suspicions,' raising allegations of embezzlement, breach of trust, violations of the Capital Markets Act by Assemblyman Lee, and illegal fundraising by Eastar Jet.

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