(LEAD) Customs officials find suspected smuggled goods at Korean Air's subcontractor

(ATTN: ADDS details in last 3 paras)

SEJONG, May 21 (Yonhap) -- Customs authorities said Monday its officials raided a subcontractor of Korean Air Lines Co. and found 2.5 tons of suspected smuggled goods, as the airline's founding family faces a probe for illegally bringing in luxury goods.

The Korea Customs Service (KCS) has been looking into allegations that Korean Air Chairman Cho Yang-ho's family smuggled certain goods without paying due taxes while reportedly disguising them as corporate assets.

The nature of the smuggled goods was not immediately made known.

The subcontractor supplies in-flight meals to Korean Air, according to KCS officials.

The Cho family has been under a series of investigations after the chairman's youngest daughter, Cho Hyun-min, a former executive of Korean Air, was accused of allegedly assaulting ad agency officials.

Hyun-min is the younger sister of Cho Hyun-ah, who gained global notoriety for the "nut rage" incident in 2014. She forced a plane back to the boarding gate at New York's John F. Kennedy International Airport because she was upset with the way her nuts were served -- in an unopened bag instead of on a plate.

Smuggling is an offense that carries a maximum sentence of five years in prison and fines up to 10 times the duties evaded.

Monday's raid by the KCS is the fifth conducted on the national flag carrier.

KCS officials said Monday's raid was carried out based on an analysis of telecommunications records between Korean Air and the subcontractor.

The KCS is expected to summon members of the Cho family after determining the origin of the suspected smuggled goods.
(END)