Special Treatment Investigation
There has been speculation that Korean Air provided special favors to members of the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, and Transport (MOLIT) by upgrading their seats to first class without charge during the aftermath of the “Nut Rage” incident by Cho Hyun-ah, former vice president of Korean Air. Investigators have begun looking into these rumors.
Seoul's Seobu District Public Prosecutor's Office announced on March 27 that it received information from MOLIT and is reviewing whom to summon.
The prosecutors are currently investigating 37 public servants belonging to MOLIT who were caught receiving or requesting preferential treatment from airlines or general companies during business trips last year. Based on an internal inquiry from MOLIT, they are planning to review whether it is possible to charge them for bribery.
They will sort out those who will be investigated after reviewing whether these public servants used their position to receive favors or exert pressure to get seat upgrades. They will also summon airline officials who provided special treatment, conducting inquiries to determine whether or not the special favors were given with the expectation of some reciprocity.
According to the internal inquiry by MOLIT on March 10, 37 out of 558 officials took business trips to other countries last year and received or requested seat upgrades from airlines.