Eastar Air Pilots Union: "Government and Ruling Party Should Reflect on Protecting Lee Sang-jik and Devise Revival Plans"

As Eastar Jet notified 605 employees of layoffs, raising concerns about mass unemployment in the aviation industry, stakeholders are entering the temporary shareholders' meeting held on the 9th at Eastar Jet headquarters in Gangseo-gu, Seoul. Photo by Hyunmin Kim kimhyun81@

[Asia Economy Reporter Dongwoo Lee] On the 9th, as the prosecution filed an arrest warrant for Lee Sang-jik, an independent lawmaker and founder of Eastar Jet, the Eastar Jet Pilots Union demanded, "The ruling party and government should reflect on their protection of Lee and devise a recovery plan for Eastar Jet, which is facing liquidation."

The Eastar Jet Pilots Union stated in a press release that afternoon, "The filing of the arrest warrant for Lee comes a full nine months after the Eastar Jet Pilots Branch reported him for illegal gift tax evasion," expressing their position.

The Pilots Union criticized, "The case accusing Lee of manipulating the corporate merger review, which ruined the lives of 1,680 workers due to his greed and escape, has yet to be investigated. Over the past nine months, 98 Eastar Jet workers were forced into voluntary retirement, and despite indefinite hunger strikes in protest, 605 were recklessly laid off."

They added, "Whether it is the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport, the Ministry of Employment and Labor, or judicial authorities, government agencies have either neglected the Eastar Jet crisis or completely entrusted it to owner Lee, and the ruling party even protected him."

The Pilots Union emphasized, "While the ruling party and government can no longer shield Lee, if they continue to neglect the Eastar Jet situation and allow liquidation, the responsibility will no longer lie with Lee but with the government and ruling party. We sternly warn that the struggle of Eastar Jet workers may shift to holding the government and ruling party accountable for neglecting liquidation."

Meanwhile, the Criminal Division 3 of Jeonju District Prosecutors' Office filed an arrest warrant against Lee on charges including violation of the Act on the Aggravated Punishment of Specific Economic Crimes (breach of trust and embezzlement), embezzlement in the course of business, and violation of the Political Parties Act.

Lee is suspected of conspiring with A, a finance officer who was indicted on charges of causing financial damage of 43 billion KRW by prematurely repaying Eastar Jet’s long-term loans and undermining the company’s financial stability.