[THE INVESTOR] Police requested an arrest warrant for the chief of Korea’s top airline on Oct. 16 for allegedly misappropriating company funds for home renovation.

Cho Yang-ho, CEO of Korean Air Lines and chairman of Hanjin Group, is under investigation over suspicion that he siphoned off 3 billion won (US$2.65 million) from company coffers to pay for the remodeling of his house in central Seoul between May 2013 and August 2014. He faces charges of breach of trust.

 

Cho Yang-ho, chairman of Hanjin Group.

When he was questioned last month, he denied any wrongdoing, saying he had no knowledge of the misappropriation.

Police also sought a warrant to arrest a group executive in charge of construction involved in the suspected crime.

The allegations were raised during a separate police investigation into possible tax fraud by an interior renovation company that works largely for business conglomerates.

By Alex Lee and newswires (alexlee@heraldcorp.com)