Eastar Jet Airline: Company’s founder Lee Sang Jik's kin charged for embezzlement

Easter Jet Airline is a low-cost airline headquartered in Gangseo-gu, Seoul. It has encountered many issues in the past months, and now one of its senior financial officials has been indicted for embezzlement.

The offenses of the indicted high official

As per Yonhap News Agency, the identity of the accused official has not been revealed by the prosecution. However, he is known to be a relative of Eastar Jet’s founder Lee Sang Jik.

He was charged with misappropriation of funds on top of a breach of trust. He allegedly undersold 5.2 million worth of company shares that are owned by the company’s affiliates of particular subsidiaries in 2015. The prosecutor’s office in Jeonju stated that this move greatly damaged the airline.

The real price of the undersold shares was KRW54 billion or around $48.06 million; however, they were sold for just KRW10 billion. With this figure, it is already clear why the company has been harmed or negatively affected. Furthermore, the high official was also accused of using KRW3.8 billion of subsidiaries’ funds arbitrarily between the years 2015 and 2019.

The findings of the prosecutor’s office were divulged on only Sunday. But then again, the name of the offender was still withheld. The results of the investigation prompted the authorities to further widen the probe because it is possible that he also conspired with the company management to carry out the misdeeds.

Eastar Jet's founder, Lee Sang Jik, is also a lawmaker who left the Democratic Party in September 2020. He fled while the company is undergoing massive layoffs and investigations on the corruption of his family members.

The budget airline applied for court receivership early this year so it can continue the business. It is the last resort to save the company from totally going downhill.

Eastar Jet’s court receivership filing

Reuters reported last month that Eastar Jet filed for court receivership in the first week of January. The cause of this includes the previous issues with corruption and the COVID-19 pandemic.

With the filing, Eastar Jet is considering a merger and acquisition. A decision has yet to be made by the court.

“The Seoul bankruptcy court plans to find a way for the debtor to continue to utilize its expertise and know-how related to the domestic and international air transport industry through M&A,” the statement from the court reads.