Hanjin group to pay 450 mil. dlrs in penalty tax

SEOUL, Oct. 4 Kyodo South Korea's National Tax Service said Monday it has fined the Hanjin Business Group, its honorary chairman and two of his sons a total of 541.6 billion won (about 451.3 million dollars) for unreported income totaling 1,089.5 billion won.

The penalty taxes and unreported income involving Hanjin, whose flagship company is national-flag carrier Korean Air, are records for a South Korean business conglomerate.

The tax authority referred Hanjin's Honorary Chairman Cho Choong Hoon and his two sons as well as two Hanjin-affiliated companies run by the sons to prosecutors on suspicion of tax evasion and the violation of the foreign exchange control law.

The two affiliated companies are Korean Air, headed by Cho's eldest son, and Hanjin Shipping Corp., headed by his third son.

Korean Air airplanes have been involved in a series of accidents in recent years, apparently due to poor maintenance.

The government has ordered the top management to take drastic reform measures to restore the battered image of the nation's major airline.

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