The chief of Hanjin Group, the operator of the country's No. 1 airline, appeared before prosecutors Tuesday over alleged involvement in a veteran opposition lawmaker's influence-peddling.
  

The case centers around allegations that Rep. Moon Hee-sang, former head of the main opposition New Politics Alliance for Democracy, asked Hanjin Chairman Cho Yang-ho to give his brother-in-law a job in 2004.
  

Cho showed up at the Southern District Prosecutors' Office in southern Seoul around 9:00 a.m.
  

"Cho is being questioned about this case with the presence of a lawyer," said a prosecutor. "The questioning is likely to continue until late night."
  

Moon's brother-in-law was hired at Bridge Warehouse, a U.S.-based company that is suspected of being connected to the top national flag carrier Korean Air, and received about $740,000 in annual salary, prosecutors said.
  

Moon belonged to a parliamentary committee overseeing the airline industry at the time, the prosecutors said, adding that Moon and Cho are alumni from the same high school.
  

Hanjin Group earlier said in a statement that Bridge Warehouse is a "separate company in which it has not invested a penny," adding the group has nothing to do with the company nor does Chairman Cho have any knowledge about the matter. (Yonhap)