Civil servant who booked first class, used lounge only and canceled 33 times is under investigation - South Korean report

A public official is suspected of purchasing additional first-class tickets in the airport's departure lobby, then cancelling the tickets 33 times using only the private lounge.
On the 13th, according to News1 and KBS, the Incheon District Prosecutors' Office is investigating public officials from the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy on suspicion of fraud and obstruction of business.
The suspect, a public servant, purchased Korean Air first-class tickets 33 times between 2018 and 2023, and canceled the tickets after only using the benefits.
According to Korean Air, after passing through the departure inspection with the ticket he was actually going to use, he chased a first-class ticket in the duty-free area.
After that, he repeatedly canceled his first-class ticket after using the exclusive lounge that is only available to first-class passengers.
The first class lounge is a spacious rest area where food and drinks are provided free of charge, and massage chairs and beauty equipment are also available.
Korean Air explained, "In the case of first class, there are often no cancellation fees for tickets, and suspect A took advantage of this."
The airline estimates that the damages, including lounge usage fees, will amount to about 20 million won (about 2.3 million yen). A Korean Air official said, "There have been other similar cases of misuse besides that of suspect A, and after investigating,
"This is an abuse of the system that does not charge cancellation fees on the day of purchase of an airline ticket, which is intended to protect the rights of consumers, and is deliberately and habitually causing damage and disrupting the business of airline companies.
Due to the actions of suspect A, Korean Air has lifted the cancellation fee regulations for first class and the maximum lounge usage fee of 500,000 won (approximately 57,500 yen).
The police station in charge of the case initially did not refer the case to prosecutors, but Korean Air protested, and the Incheon District Prosecutors' Office is currently investigating the matter.
Through his lawyer, suspect A said, "Korean Air is taking excessive measures by taking advantage of its status as a flagship carrier. It is unreasonable to go so far as to ban me from boarding a plane when I have not committed any terrorist acts.
The Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy has placed A under house arrest and announced that it will decide whether to take disciplinary action depending on the results of the investigation.