Prosecutors have raided the unification ministry’s office handling inter-Korea relations over suspicions related to the selection of low-cost carrier Eastar Jet to transport musicians to Pyongyang for an inter-Korean art performance in 2018, officials said Wednesday.
The Jeonju District Prosecutors Office has sent investigators to the ministry’s Inter-Korean Relations Management Bureau since Monday to gather evidence related to the suspicions, officials said.
Eastar Jet transported a group of South Korean artists to and from Pyongyang between March and April 2018 for music concerts held in the North Korean capital as part of the then Moon Jae-in government’s rapprochement efforts with the North. Korean Air Lines Co. handled cargo transportation at that time.
The unification ministry reportedly selected Eastar Jet based on its past experience transporting athletes to North Korea for an inter-Korean workers’ football match in 2015.
Prosecutors, however, suspect that political considerations may have influen
ced the choice over larger rivals.
The ongoing search is part of prosecutors’ broader investigation into allegations that Moon granted favors to Lee Sang-jik, founder of Eastar Jet, in exchange for his former son-in-law being hired as an executive at Thai Eastar Jet, a Thailand-based budget carrier also founded by Lee.
Prosecutors have earlier searched the home of Cho Myoung-gyon, who served as foreign minister in 2018, as part of the investigation.
Source: Yonhap News Agency