[THE INVESTOR] The government plans to end its exclusive flight contracts with the country’s two flag carriers -- Korean Air and Asiana Airlines -- this year, to allow its employees to use other airlines, including low-cost carriers, for official travel, the Finance Ministry said on June 14.

Under the so-called government transportation request, the country’s public servants have been required to exclusively use the two airlines for almost 40 years.

The government signed the GTR agreements with Korean Air Lines in 1980 and Asiana Airlines in 1990.

The contract has been automatically renewed every three years.

The move comes as Korean Air’s founding family members have been under fire for a series of irregularities and alleged illegal activities.

For one, the prosecutors and the police have been investigating allegations that family members of Hanjin Group Chairman Cho Yang-ho, also chairman of Korean Air, smuggled luxury goods into the country without paying duties.

By Song Seung-hyun and newswires (ssh@heraldcorp.com)