April 23, 2024

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[THE INVESTOR] A Seoul court is set to arraign the wife of Korean Air’s chairman on June 20 to determine whether to issue an arrest warrant prosecutors requested for her on charges of illegally hiring Filipino housekeepers.

Lee Myung-hee, 69, wife of the national flag carrier’s chairman, Cho Yang-ho, is accused of hiring about 20 maids from the Philippines over the past 10 years without the correct visas.

Prosecutors requested an arrest warrant for her on June 18.

It was the second time that an arrest warrant had been sought for her. The first warrant was requested earlier this month on charges Lee habitually assaulted and insulted company employees and others, but the court rejected the request saying the charges against her were disputable and that she was unlikely to flee.

Lee was the third member of the family to undergo criminal investigations, after her two daughters did so on charges of abusing company staff and others under their influence, including the famous “nut rage” incident involving her eldest daughter.

Officials said Lee is suspected of hiring the housekeepers from the Southeast Asian nation by sponsoring them with traineeship visas in violation of the law. To work as housekeepers in Korea, a foreigner must obtain a visa that is issued to either ethnic Koreans from overseas or those married to Koreans.

By Song Seung-hyun and newswires (ssh@heraldcorp.com)