Tag: Korean Air

It is pretty surprising how incompetent this Korean Airlines crew apparently were when a DoD civilian experienced a heart attack on a flight two years ago:

Flight attendants aboard a Korean Air flight two years ago failed to act properly to save a Defense Department employee who died of a heart attack midflight, according to a lawsuit filed recently by the woman’s estate. Porscha Brown, 33, a safety specialist at the U.S. Army’s Fort Belvoir, Va., died March 29, 2024, of acute cardiac failure, according to the lawsuit filed March 27 in U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia.

She was traveling with three companions on Korean Air Flight KE94 from Washington Dulles International Airport to Incheon International Airport when the incident occurred. According to the lawsuit, Brown began experiencing distress about 12 hours into the 15½-hour flight, clutching her chest and saying, “I can’t breathe.” The complaint alleges Korean Air personnel “failed to properly administer oxygen” to Brown, claiming the airline’s crew “alternated between panicking, observing, and taking notes” as her condition worsened.

Specifically, flight personnel did not follow industry standards or the airline’s own procedures, the suit alleges. Brown was reportedly given an oxygen mask that was not connected to its tank, and crew members did not use the aircraft’s automated external defibrillator, according to the complaint. After Brown lost consciousness, crew members placed the defibrillator next to her but “stood by and did nothing,” the lawsuit states. They also failed to assist two passengers who attempted to use the device to save Brown, according to the complaint.

Stars & Stripes

You can read more at the link.

It will now be harder for anyone in Korea looking to travel to Israel with Korean Air canceling flights to the country:

Korean Air Co. has canceled its flights from Incheon to Tel Aviv this week amid safety concerns over the escalating conflict between Israel and Palestinian Islamist group Hamas, according to company officials Monday.

South Korea’s leading air carrier has canceled all three KE957 flights from Incheon to Tel Aviv, which run regularly on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays, for the week.

The company, however, has kept in place the returning KE958 flights, which transport passengers from Tel Aviv to Incheon. It plans to decide whether to operate the return flights after reviewing the airport situation in Tel Aviv.

Yonhap

You can read more at the link.

It looks like someone has finally decided to purchase Asiana Airlines, but it took a huge government investment to make it happen:

Korean Air Lines, the country’s largest carrier, will acquire cash-strapped rival Asiana Airlines with the help of the state-run Korea Development Bank (KDB).

The new airline will become the world’s No. 7 carrier by capacity to transport passengers and cargo, according to 2019 IATA numbersprovided by KDB.  

On Monday, the bank announced that it will indirectly provide financing to Korean Air Lines, which will use those funds and additional proceeds from a stock sale to buy a significant stake in Asiana Airlines.  

In the complex transaction, KDB will invest 500 billion won ($451.6 million) in Hanjin KAL and buy 300 billion won of the company’s exchangeable bonds. Hanjin KAL, which already owns 29.27 percent of Korean Air Lines, will buy 730 billion won of a 2.5-trillion-won share offering by the airline.  

The carrier will then use 1.8 trillion won of the newly raised capital to become the biggest shareholder of Asiana Airlines, by purchasing 1.5 trillion won of the airline’s new shares and 300 billion worth of perpetual bonds.

Joong Ang Ilbo

You can read more at the link.

South Korea’s most hated Chaebol family member, Cho Hyun-ah is definitely not going away any time soon as she makes a bid to wrest control of Hanjin Group from her brother:

Cho Hyun-ah, 45, whose family control the Hanjin group that includes flag-carrier Korean Air, made headlines worldwide with her furious reaction when she was served nuts in a bag instead of a plate in first class.

A series of scandals centring on abuse of subordinates rapidly made the Chos the South’s most vilified billionaires.

But now her struggle against brother Cho Won-tae could mark a watershed moment for the family-controlled conglomerates known as chaebols that dominate business in the world’s 12th-largest economy.

She has joined forces with an activist investment fund, Korea Corporate Governance Improvement (KCGI), which says better chaebol management will improve efficiency, employee engagement, and shareholder returns.

Cho Won-tae inherited the chairmanship of the conglomerate’s holding company Hanjin Kal after the siblings’ father Cho Yang-ho — who led the successful bid for the Pyeongchang Winter Olympics — died last year.

But “you can’t just run a company because you happen to be a grandson of its founder”, said Lee Seung-hoon, KCGI’s head of global business.

AFP

You can read more at the link, but Cho Hyun-ah also has other family members and Delta Airlines backing her to take over Hanjin Group from her brother. However, she claims she will not take over the President spot and instead install a professional to run the conglomerate.

It is arguable that by being on the flight Cho was setting an example that he was willing to risk getting sick the same as his employees who volunteered to work these two flights:

Hanjin Group Chairman and Korean Air CEO Cho Won-tae faced criticism for being onboard a chartered flight arranged by the government to bring back Korean citizens from the coronavirus-hit Chinese city of Wuhan, according to industry officials Monday. 

Critics called Cho’s decision to be on the flight an “overaction” designed to improve his image ahead of an important general meeting of shareholders, as he apparently had no particular role on the aircraft that carried out the evacuation mission.

The government sent two charters Korean Air planes to Wuhan, one each on Thursday and Friday, completing the mission to bring home about 700 nationals from the epicenter of the deadly illness. Cho boarded the first flight.

Korea Times

You can read more at the link, but this sounds like people hating on the guy simply because of the family he comes from.

It seems pretty clear that the brother is trying to sideline her because of the bad publicity her presence would bring. With that said people need to get over the whole “nut rage” incident. She was vilified, sent to jail, lost her job, humiliated, and then even divorced by her husband. I think she has been punished enough for turning a plane around at the airport:

Cho Hyun-ah, former Korean Air executive vice president, accused her younger brother Monday of not leading Hanjin Group in accordance with their father’s dying injunctions, signaling a sibling feud over control of the logistics-centered conglomerate.

Cho, who is notorious for her 2014 “nut rage” incident, released a statement via her legal representative, claiming that Hanjin Group Chairman Cho Won-tae is not following their father’s instructions regarding group management.

“Our father wanted the family to run the business together, but Hanjin Group is currently neglecting his last words,” Hyun-ah said through her legal representative. 

Former Hanjin Group Chairman Cho Yang-ho died of a chronic lung disease in Los Angeles in April at the age of 70.

Their feud surfaced in May when the board of Hanjin KAL, the group’s holding company, belatedly named Won-tae as the group’s new chairman reorganized by the Fair Trade Act. Hyun-ah and her sister Hyun-min allegedly disagreed with their brother.

The three seemed to have reached a consensus when Won-tae told reporters that the three have ironed out their differences and agreed to work together. However, Hyun-ah has not yet returned to the family-run business. 

Korea Times

You can read more at the link.

The biggest surprise for me is not that they illegally hired Filipino maids, but do you really need 11 maids in one home?:

The wife and the eldest daughter of late Hanjin Group Chairman Cho Yang-ho received suspended jail sentences for illegally hiring Filipino maids. 

On Tuesday, the Seoul Central District Court sentenced Lee Myung-hee, the wife of Cho Yang-ho, to 18 months in prison, suspended. The court also sentenced Cho Hyun-ah, infamous for the so-called “nut rage” incident, to one year, suspended. 

Korean Air was fined 30 million won ($25,660) in the case.

The Cho family members were charged with illegally hiring 11 Filipino women as maids by passing them off as Korean Air employees. 

The suspended prison sentences for the two Cho family members are significantly higher than what prosecution demanded. The prosecutors had asked the court only to fine the two: Lee 30 million won and Cho Hyun-ah 15 million won. 

Joong Ang Ilbo

You can read more at the link.

The National Pension Fund should simply sell underperforming stocks, not change out managers & try to run the companies. KAL actually was doing well, great service, in black. But the Moon Jae-in admin's goal is to take over private companies. This is sad & scary at the same time. https://t.co/URknVclnxB

— Tara O (@DrTaraO) April 8, 2019