SEOUL, South Korea: Hundreds of Korean Air Lines Co. pilots, cabin crew and other workers staged a rally Friday night in Seoul saying they can’t take any more abuse from the company’s founding family.
One of the protesters was Park Chang-jin, a crew member who was forced off of a Korean Air aircraft at John F. Kennedy International Airport in 2014, when the company chairman’s daughter threw a tantrum over the way nuts were served.
“I’m proud of Korean Air. I love Korean Air. Let’s protect Korean Air,” Park told the roaring crowd.
Authorities are investigating multiple charges against Chairman Cho Yang-ho’s family, including smuggling and tax evasion. Another of Cho’s daughters is under investigation for allegedly throwing a drink at ad agency officials, an allegation that she denies.
Such a protest by employees of a “chaebol,” the family-controlled big businesses that dominate the South Korean economy, is rare. It reflects growing resentment against perceived outlandish behavior by the elite founding families and the view that they treat publicly listed companies as their private firms.
Hiding their faces with identical masks to obscure their identities, the protesters shouted slogans against the Cho family. Many pilots were wearing uniforms and ties.
“We cannot take any more curse and power abuse by the Cho family,” they shouted in unison. They waved banners that read “Cho, you are fired.” Another banner read: “We want to be treated like a human, not a slave.”
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Korean Air pilots, crew protest abuse by founding family
Korean Air pilots, crew protest abuse by founding family
- One of the protesters was a crew member who was forced off of a Korean Air aircraft when the company chairman’s daughter threw a tantrum over the way nuts were served.
- Another of Cho’s daughters is under investigation for allegedly throwing a drink at ad agency officials.
Explosion at US embassy in Oslo, no injuries: police
OSLO, Norway: Norwegian police reported on Sunday an explosion at the US embassy in the capital Oslo, but said there were no casualties.
The explosion occurred around 1:00 am local time (0000 GMT), the Oslo police department said in a statement, adding they did not know the cause of the blast.
Public broadcaster NRK quoted police incident commander Michael Dellemyr saying the blast hit the entrance of the embassy’s consular section.
“At around 1:00 am we received several reports of an explosion. We arrived shortly afterward and confirmed that there had been an explosion that hit the US embassy,” he told NRK.
“There is minor damage,” he said.
“We are not going to comment on anything related to the type of damage, what it is that has exploded and similar details, beyond the fact that there has been an explosion” because “it is very early in the investigation,” he said.
The police statement said investigators were in contact with the embassy about the incident and there was a huge police deployment on site.
Residents near the embassy said they heard a loud blast.
A 16-year-old identified only as Edvard told TV2 that he was watching television when he heard the blast.
“My mother and I first thought it came from our house so we looked around a little, but then we saw the flashing lights outside the window and a ton of police,” he said.
“There were police dogs and drones and police with automatic weapons and helicopters in the air,” he said.
US embassies have been placed on high alert in the Middle East over American military operations in Iran and several have faced attacks as Tehran hits back at industrial and diplomatic targets.
But police gave no indication the incident near the embassy in Oslo was connected to the conflict.
The explosion occurred around 1:00 am local time (0000 GMT), the Oslo police department said in a statement, adding they did not know the cause of the blast.
Public broadcaster NRK quoted police incident commander Michael Dellemyr saying the blast hit the entrance of the embassy’s consular section.
“At around 1:00 am we received several reports of an explosion. We arrived shortly afterward and confirmed that there had been an explosion that hit the US embassy,” he told NRK.
“There is minor damage,” he said.
“We are not going to comment on anything related to the type of damage, what it is that has exploded and similar details, beyond the fact that there has been an explosion” because “it is very early in the investigation,” he said.
The police statement said investigators were in contact with the embassy about the incident and there was a huge police deployment on site.
Residents near the embassy said they heard a loud blast.
A 16-year-old identified only as Edvard told TV2 that he was watching television when he heard the blast.
“My mother and I first thought it came from our house so we looked around a little, but then we saw the flashing lights outside the window and a ton of police,” he said.
“There were police dogs and drones and police with automatic weapons and helicopters in the air,” he said.
US embassies have been placed on high alert in the Middle East over American military operations in Iran and several have faced attacks as Tehran hits back at industrial and diplomatic targets.
But police gave no indication the incident near the embassy in Oslo was connected to the conflict.
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