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| Jin Air counter at Gimpo Airport / Yonhap |
By Lee Suh-yoon
Jin Air has been struggling with continued government sanctions as it is unable to acquire new flight routes and expand its fleet, according to industry officials Wednesday.
The deteriorating ties between Korea and Japan has also made things go from bad to worse for the Korean Air-affiliated budget carrier as it is losing money on its Japan routes due to the falling number of Koreans traveling to the neighboring country, they said.
In August 2018, the ministry banned Jin Air from adding new flight routes, acquiring new planes and operating unscheduled flights, following revelations of Hanjin Group heiress Cho Hyun-min's board membership. The ban was put in place after the ministry found Jin Air had broken the transport law by allowing Cho ― a U.S. citizen ― to serve on the company's board of directors between 2010 and 2016.
The sanctions prevented the nation's second-biggest budget carrier from acquiring new licenses to open flight routes in February, including one between Incheon and Ulaanbaatar as well as Busan and Singapore. In May last year, it was also prevented from bidding for a new route linking Incheon and China.
"The ban barred us from acquiring new flight route licenses to China, Singapore and Mongolia," a Jin Air spokesperson said. "It prevents us from forming a proper business plan for the future."
But the transport ministry has no plans of repealing the 17-month long sanctions against Jin Air anytime soon.
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| Jin Air CEO Choi Jung-ho at a ministry hearing in July 2018 / Yonhap |
The ministry says it is still in the process of conducting "a fair and objective evaluation" into whether Jin Air is carrying out measures to prevent illicit practices by top management. In a self-evaluation report last September, Jin Air promised to implement a more democratic management culture, including more transparent screenings of board members.
Cho, the younger sister of infamous "nut rage" heiress Cho Hyun-ah, stepped down from her position as Jin Air's vice president following her own "water rage" scandal in 2018, in which she threw her glass and drink at employees. However, victims did not seek punishment and abuse charges against Cho were dropped.
To employees' dismay, she returned from her exile last year as Hanjin KAL's Senior Vice President. The Jin Air labor union condemned Cho's return, saying it "dashed the company's hopes for normalization." The union worries Cho will use her position at the parent company to meddle in the carrier's management.
In December, the transport ministry recommended to Jin Air further measures that could shut out any illicit influence by Hanjin Group.
"We will keep monitoring the progress until all our worries are settled," a ministry official said.
