Asiana upgrades Linton family seats

Asiana Airlines will offer free seat upgrades to relatives of John Linton, director of Yonsei Severance Hospital`s International Health Care Center, in recognition of the family`s contribution to Korean society, the company said yesterday.

The air carrier will provide the upgrades to four members of the Linton family who plan to visit Seoul to receive the Order of Merit for National Foundation from the Korean government on March 1 on behalf of the late William Linton.

William Linton is the grandfather of John Linton and was a foreign missionary who opposed Japanese rule in the 1940s. The late Linton was deported by the Japanese government after he refused to pay respects to war dead but returned to Korea to continue his life-long service to the country and its people, officials said.

"We heard that the members of the Linton family booked economy class seats on their way to Seoul even though they are seniors. We thought we have to offer something for those who sacrificed their lives to the country for generations," an official at the carrier said.

The founder of Daejeon University, now Hannam University, was the third generation of the Linton family to have helped Koreans in need since 1895.

(christory@heraldm.com)