Hong Joon-pyo: "My son keeps failing interviews... The Moon administration is just looking out for their own"

Independent lawmaker Hong Joon-pyo. Photo by Yonhap News

[Asia Economy Reporter Kang Juhee] Independent lawmaker Hong Jun-pyo mentioned allegations of 'employment corruption' involving Lee Sang-jik, the founder of Eastar Jet, and claimed that his own son suffered disadvantages simply because he is the son of an opposition party figure.

On the 21st, Representative Hong posted on Facebook, "(My son) resigned from a well-established automotive company's overseas sales department just before being promoted to manager during the impeachment presidential election four years ago. He then pursued his dream of becoming a pilot by attending a flight school in Arizona, USA, and even obtained a large aircraft license, but again faced persecution for being the son of an opposition party member and repeatedly failed interviews for two years."

Hong stated, "They said that if they hire the son of an opposition figure, the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport's Aviation Policy Office would impose disadvantages during airline route adjustments," and claimed, "Last year, even though my son ranked second in the written test and passed the practical test for Eastar Jet's flight attendant recruitment exam, he still failed."

He continued, "While the Moon Jae-in administration, which was supposed to be clearing out deep-rooted evils and punishing blacklists, shamelessly circulated blacklists of opposition party sons among airlines, blocking their rightful employment, they themselves engaged in illegal and unfair preferential hiring among their own circles," criticizing the administration.

Hong said, "I truly feel that I am living a life that does not help my son's future, and I feel deeply sorry and devastated seeing my son," adding, "Being the son of Hong Jun-pyo has become a shackle, which is truly a wrong world."

He further criticized, "Since the Moon Jae-in administration came into power, while they have been enriching themselves within their circles, they have hypocritically shouted fairness and justice to the opposition and the public. This double-dealing, as seen in the Eastar Jet incident, has now gone too far."

Lee Sang-jik, Democratic Party of Korea lawmaker. Photo by Dongju Yoon doso7@

Earlier, MBC reported on the 20th that Representative Lee had received employment requests from acquaintances or influential people and sent lists to Eastar Jet's HR team, instructing them to pass these candidates through the document screening. It was reported that 138 applicants who received such requests applied to Eastar Jet, with at least 78 passing.

Meanwhile, Lee, who was a member of the Democratic Party of Korea, voluntarily left the party last September amid the mass layoff crisis at Eastar Jet. He is currently under a detention warrant issued by the prosecution on charges of embezzling company funds worth around 5 billion KRW and causing damages to the company amounting to approximately 43 billion KRW.

On the 21st, a vote on the motion to consent to Lee's arrest was held at the National Assembly plenary session, passing with 206 votes in favor, 38 against, and 11 abstentions.