Hanjin Group chairman Cho Yang-ho on Wednesday criticized the International Air Transport Association’s public support for Asiana Airlines at a time when the Korean government has been considering sanctions against the air carrier over a crash-landing accident last year.

“Imposing sanctions on Asiana is the job of Korea’s Land, Infrastructure and Transport Ministry,” Cho told reporters while attending a Korea-U.S. Business Council meeting in Seoul. The Hanjin chairman is also leading the nation’s largest airline, Korean Air.

“It is an intervention in a domestic issue for IATA to claim that ‘the imposition of further penalties by the state is unreasonable.’” 

His comments came after Antony Tyler, director general of IATA, a Canada-based trade association of 240 global airlines, sent a letter to Korea’s Transport Ministry on Oct. 23 to show its support for Asiana.

“Absent deliberate, flagrant violation or sabotage, an aircraft accident should not be criminalized because criminalization of aviation accident investigations serves no useful purpose,” Tyler wrote in his letter.

To penalize Asiana for the crash-landing at San Francisco International Airport on July 7 last year, the Korean government can impose sanctions such as a business suspension for 45 to 135 days on the Incheon-San Francisco route or fines worth 750 million to 2.25 billion won ($692,000 to $2.08 million).

Asiana, saying a business suspension would dampen its global sales network and brand image, has appealed for a fine instead. Korean Air has raised its voice to urge strict sanctions against Asiana, its top domestic rival.

The ministry plans to hold a related meeting soon ― possibly within this month ― to finalize the level of sanctions.

By Lee Ji-yoon (jylee@heraldcorp.com)