Hanjin Group Chairman Cho Yang-ho has been slapped with the charge of underreporting in-house deals to add onto the ever-growing list of criminal counts against Cho and his family members.

The Fair Trade Commission (FTC) said Monday that it has found Cho had deliberately excluded four units owned by his family members and 62 related people in a report submitted to the FTC over the last 15 years, and referred to case to the prosecution.

The companies are Taeil Trade, Taeil Catering, Cheongwon Naengjang and WAC International Logistics, in which Cho’s family members including his brother-in-law Lee Sang-jin own 60 to 100 percent stakes. Taeil Trade supplying airline amenities and Taeil Catering offering in-flight meals to Hanjin Group’s Korean Air Lines and its budget affiliate Jin Air raked in 10.8 billion won ($9.5 million) and 10.5 billion won in sales last year, entirely made from transactions with other Hanjin units.

Cho did not include the names of his 62 relatives including Lee’s wife and children in the list of his family members. The FTC alleged that Cho couldn’t be unaware of the omission because the family tree information is managed at the secretary’s office of KAL. The FTC has requested Hanjin Group to additionally hand in other documents including family registration certificates of all of the relatives and their stake holding status.

Hanjin Group refuted that it was just a simple mistake by a person in charge who was not aware of the exclusion due to the lack of understanding of the fair trade act, adding that it will aggressively appeal that FTC’s latest action is excessive compared to precedent cases.

The latest charge has added woes to the Cho family already under multiple separate criminal investigations for charges ranging from embezzlement to smuggling. Cho’s youngest daughter Hyun-min put Jin Air at the risk of losing flight business license for illegally commanding a board seat as a U.S. citizen. His eldest daughter Hyun-ah was also under a prosecution probe for smuggling luxury goods. Their mother is accused of habitual physical and verbal abuses of corporate and housing staff.

On Tuesday, shares of Korean Air Lines finished 1.08 percent lower at 27,550 won, while those of Jin Air tumbled 2.92 percent to 21,600 won.

By Seok Min-soo and Choi Mira

[ⓒ Pulse by Maeil Business Newspaper & mk.co.kr, All rights reserved]