Tougher aviation laws against unruly air passengers have been enacted in South Korea, after the so-called nut rage scandal which saw top Korean Air executive Heather Cho jailed.
Under the new rules, passengers will pay a higher fine if they disturb the pilot. Transport officials say they revised laws because of public demand.
Heather Cho – also known as Cho Hyun-ah – was convicted in February 2015 after ordering a taxiing plane back to offload a steward who served the nuts in a way she deemed inappropriate.
The case attracted global attention.
In South Korea it reopened a national debate about elitism and the Korean business system, which is dominated by family firms known as chaebols.
Besides being the vice-president at Korean Air at that time, Heather Cho is the daughter of the airline’s chairman.
Photo AP
During the incident Heather Cho was angered that she was given macadamia nuts which she did not ask for, and was offended that they were served in a bag, not in a bowl.
After confronting flight staff, Heather Cho ordered the plane which was taxiing at New York’s JFK Airport to turn back and offload the chief steward.
Under the new law, passed by parliamentarians in 2015, anyone who disturbs the pilot during a flight could face up to five years in prison or a 50 million won ($41,200) fine.
Previously the same offence did not have a jail term and only had a 5 million won fine. Crew members are also now compelled to hand over unruly passengers to the police, or risk a 10 million won fine.
“The amended law reflects mounting public demand for enhanced aviation safety and the prevention of unruly behavior during flight following the Korean Air nut rage incident,” the transport ministry said in a press statement.
Heather Cho was convicted of violating airline safety. She served five months in jail before she was freed in May after an appeals court overturned the ruling saying she did not cause a change in flight path. Another conviction of using violence against flight attendants still stands.
Korean Air’s former head of in-flight service Heather Cho, who was jailed for an outburst over macadamia nuts, has been freed after winning a court appeal.
Heather Cho was jailed for a year in February but the court on May 22 ruled she should serve a suspended sentence.
The daughter of Korean Air’s chairman was convicted of violating plane safety after ordering a taxiing plane back to the gate to offload a steward who had served the nuts the wrong way.
However, the appeal court ruled Heather Cho, also known as Cho Hyun-ah, did not cause a change in the flight path.
The court gave Heather Cho a reduced sentence of 10 months and suspended the prison term for two years.
She remains guilty of using violence against flight attendants.
On December 5 last year, Heather Cho became angry while onboard a Korean Air flight in New York after she was served macadamia nuts which she did not ask for, and which were still in a bag, not in a bowl.
She confronted both the flight attendant who served her and chief steward Park Chang-jin about the presentation, at one point jabbing Park with a service manual.
Heather Cho then ordered the plane, which was taxiing at JFK Airport, to return to the terminal to offload Park Chang-jin.
She had been in custody since she was arrested on December 30. In February she was convicted and sentenced to one year in jail.
One of the judges on the appeal panel said on May 22 that they had taken into consideration that she was a first time offender.
“It appears that she will have to live under heavy criticism from society, and stigma,” he said.
The case attracted intense attention in South Korea, reopening a national debate about the Korean business system, which is dominated by family companies known as chaebols.
South Korean flight attendant Kim Do-hee is suing Korean Air and jailed former executive Heather Cho in the US over what became known as the “nut rage” incident.
Lawyers for Kim Do-hee allege that Heather Cho verbally and physically attacked the flight attendant for the way she served nuts on a plane taking off from New York’s JFK airport on December 5.
Heather Cho, also known as Cho Hyun-ah, later ordered the taxiing plane to offload another flight steward.
Last month, Heather Cho was jailed for one year for obstructing aviation safety.
Cho Hyun-ah was a vice-president overseeing cabin service for Korean Air, and is also the daughter of the airline’s chairman. She is appealing against her conviction.
Photo AFP
Kim Do-hee’s civil lawsuit, filed in New York City, is seeking compensation for damage to her career, reputation and emotional wellbeing.
It alleges that Heather Cho screamed and hit Kim Do-hee after being served the nuts in their bag not a bowl.
Kim Do-hee’s lawyers said that “the evidence in this case will demonstrate that Cho’s actions were not only humiliating, degrading, and damaging to Kim, but were also emblematic of Cho’s unbridled arrogance and disturbing sense of entitlement”.
The summons also stated the flight attendant was pressured to lie to government investigators to cover up the incident and to appear in public with Heather Cho “as part of an orchestrated effort to try and rehabilitate Cho’s public image”, reported AP.
They said the airline had not responded to Kim Do-hee’s attempt to settle her claim privately.
Earlier reports said that after Heather Cho was served the nuts by Kim Do-hee, she summoned head steward Park Chang-jin and confronted him about the presentation.
Park Chang-jin said in a television interview in December that he was forced to kneel in front of Heather Cho, who then ordered him off the flight.
The case opened a national debate about the Korean business system, which is dominated by family companies known as chaebols.
Some of the families running these businesses have been accused of high-handedness and acting with impunity.
Former Korean Air executive Heather Cho has been found guilty of breaking aviation law over the “nut rage” case.
Heather Cho, also known as Cho Hyun-ah, was jailed for one year, avoiding a possible maximum sentence of 10 years.
She had forced her Seoul-bound plane to turn back to the gate and offload a steward because she did not like the way she had been served nuts.
The case garnered global interest and caused an uproar in South Korea.
Heather Cho, who was a vice-president with the South Korean airline, was found guilty of obstructing aviation safety.
Her plane was taxiing at New York’s JFK Airport on December 5 when witnesses say she became angry after being served macadamia nuts she did not ask for and which were still in a bag and not in a bowl.
Cho Hyun-ah ordered the plane to return to the gate and offload the chief steward.
“This is a case where human dignity was trampled upon,” Judge Oh Sung-woo said on February 12.
Heather Cho had treated the flight “as if it was her own private plane”, Judge Oh Sung-woo added.
“It is doubtful that the way the nuts were served was so wrong.”
The judge said Heather Cho has failed to show enough remorse even after she submitted letters to the court apologizing for the incident.
Prosecutors had asked for a sentence of three years in prison on charges of breaking aviation law, assault and interfering in an investigation.
Witnesses testified during the trial that Heather Cho struck a crewmember with the service manual.
Her defense team argued that aviation safety had not been violated as the plane was still being pushed by a truck away from the gate.
However, the judge rejected that argument saying the plane was classed as “in flight” and she interfered, correspondents say.
Heather Cho, who is the daughter of the chairman of Korean Air, publicly apologized for the incident and resigned from all her posts at the airline in December.
The trial has opened a national debate about the Korean business system, which is dominated by family firms known as chaebols.
Some of the families running these businesses have been accused of high-handedness and acting with impunity.
Korean Air chairman and CEO Cho Yang-ho has told a court he scolded his 40-year-old daughter, known as Heather Cho, for ejecting an air steward in a now infamous “nut rage” incident.
Both father and daughter apologized to the court for the incident, which erupted when Cho Hyun-ah was served nuts in a packet rather than on a plate.
Cho Hyun-ah, aka Heather Cho, appeared in green prison overalls, her hair falling over her face and speaking in a whisper.
She could face 10 years in jail.
Cho Hyun-ah has denied forcing the flight attendant and the cabin crew chief to kneel and beg forgiveness while she shouted abuse.
In court, the attendant who mis-served the nuts said she was pushed by Cho Hyun-ah, a push now alleged to amount to a criminal assault.
Heather Cho is also accused of interfering with the execution of duty and coercing employees to give false testimony.
The case has sparked a storm in South Korea, highlighting nepotism within the country’s mighty conglomerates, or “chaebol”, and the perceived arrogance of the offspring of chaebol chiefs.
Cho Hyun-ah and her siblings have all served as executives with Korean Air.
“It was wrong to get a crew member off the flight no matter what the reason,” Cho Yang-ho told the court, during his first appearance in the witness box, according to Reuters news agency.
“I have scolded her for not controlling her emotions and [for] expelling the crew member,” he said as his daughter appeared to wipe away tears.
Cho Yang-ho apologized to the crew chief whom Cho Hyun-ah forced to leave the flight, and promised he would face no reprisals if he chose to stay in his job.
Cho Hyun-ah ordered the plane to return to the gate while it was taxiing to the runway in New York on December 5 to eject the crew chief, causing an 11-minute delay to its arrival in South Korea.
The female flight attendant who served the nuts also gave testimony on January 30, saying she was pushed and had a service manual thrown at her by Heather Cho during the incident.
She said she was subsequently pressured to accept an apology from Cho Hyun-ah in exchange for a job as a professor, but did not accept.
The trial of Korean Air executive Cho Hyun-ah, who flew into a rage when macadamia nuts were served to her in a bag and not on a plate, has begun in Seoul.
Cho Hyun-ah, also known as Heather Cho, ordered her plane that was taxiing to return to the gate and offload the chief steward.
The “nut rage” incident occurred on a Seoul-bound flight from New York on December 5.
On January 19, Cho Hyun-ah pleaded not guilty to charges of obstructing aviation safety.
Heather Cho, 40, who has been detained since December 30, was wearing a green prison uniform in the packed courtroom.
She stood with her head lowered and answered questions in a whisper.
Her lawyers argued in the opening statement that the charges were based on “exaggerated statements” and that the safety violations were minor given the plane was still on the ground and had not yet reached the runway.
Photo EPA
Heather Cho, who is the daughter of Korean Air chief executive Cho Yang-ho, is also accused of interfering in the execution of a government official’s duty and coercion, according to prosecutors, who said she allegedly exerted influence in the government investigation.
She faces a maximum 10 years in jail if found guilty of diverting the aircraft with no good reason.
Cho Hyun-ah publicly apologized for the incident and resigned from all her posts at the airline in December.
However, the story was widely seen as an example of poor management in South Korea’s family-run conglomerates, or “chaebols” that dominate the country’s business landscape.
The Korean transport ministry said it would place sanctions on Korean Air of a ban on some routes or fines of up to $2 million.
Former Korean Air executive Heather Cho, who delayed a plane over how nuts were served, has been arrested.
TV footage showed Heather Cho, also known as Cho Hyun-ah, being led away, shortly after a court in South Korea granted a warrant for her arrest.
Heather Cho, the daughter of Korean Air’s CEO, is being charged with violating aviation safety law and impeding crew in their duties.
She ordered the plane to turn back on the runway in New York after nuts were served in a bag, not on a plate.
She has denied physically assaulting the chief steward, Park Chang-jin, who says she made him kneel and beg for forgiveness before jabbing him with a document folder.
Heather Cho has already apologized and resigned as head of the airline’s flight service.
TV images on December 30 showed the 40-year-old Heather Cho being taken away by prosecutors, with her head bowed.
When asked by reporters for a comment, she said: “I’m sorry.”
Another airline executive has also been arrested, accused of destroying evidence relating to the case.
South Korea’s transport ministry said this month that it would take disciplinary measures against the airline in the wake of the incident.
Korean Air could face either a partial flight ban or a fine, the ministry said.
A government investigation found that Heather Cho screamed and shouted abuse at a flight attendant after he served her macadamia nuts in a bag.
She then ordered the plane to go back to the terminal at New York’s JFK airport to offload the attendant, who was fired on the spot before the plane proceeded on its journey. He has since been reinstated.
The incident forced the flight to Seoul to be delayed.
Her father, Korean Air chairman Cho Yang-Ho, has apologized for his daughter’s “foolish act”.
Cho Yang-ho also said his daughter would step down from all her posts in companies under the Cho family-owned Hanjin Group, which also owns Korean Air.
The Hanjin Group is one of South Korea’s top family conglomerates, called chaebol.
Former Korean Air VP Heather Cho has tried to apologize in person to two flight attendants for the way she treated them over how she was served nuts.
Heather Cho, also known as Cho Hyun-ah visited the homes of the pair – but both were out, so she left them a note instead.
She had ordered the head steward be removed from a flight after being served nuts in a bag, not on a plate.
The incident forced the flight to Seoul to be delayed. She resigned from her posts in the company afterwards.
The head steward, Park Chang-jin, has alleged that Heather Cho forced him and a female attendant to kneel and beg forgiveness.
However, Heather Cho has denied this: “I’ve never heard such thing. I don’t know anything about it,” AFP quoted her as saying.
Heather Cho told a news conference on Friday that she was sorry for her behavior.
Her father, Korean Air chairman Cho Yang-Ho, also apologized for what he called his daughter’s “foolish act”.
Heather Cho said his daughter would step down from all her posts in companies under the Cho family-owned Hanjin Group, which also owns Korean Air. She had been head of in-flight service for the airline.
The Hanjin Group is one of South Korea’s top family conglomerates, called chaebol.
Former Korean Air Vice President Heather Cho has apologized for delaying a company’s aircraft over a serving of nuts, in her first public appearance since the incident.
Heather Cho’s father, Korean Air chairman Cho Yang-ho, also apologized at a news conference, amid a simmering backlash in South Korea.
Cho Yang-ho said his daughter, who has resigned from the airline, would be stripped of roles in affiliated companies.
The South Korean government is probing the incident, which has dominated headlines.
Heather Cho, also known as Cho Hyun-ah was onboard a Korean Airlines plane departing from New York for Incheon last week when she demanded a crew member to be removed, after she was served nuts in a bag, instead of on a plate.
Photo Reuters
Korean Air initially defended Heather Cho’s behavior, noting that as vice-president overseeing flight service, she was responsible for making sure service standards were upheld. The airliner later apologized.
On December 12, Heather Cho bowed in apology when she spoke to reporters outside a government building, where she was due to meet transport officials.
“I sincerely apologize,” she said, adding that she planned to say sorry personally to affected crew members.
Hours earlier Cho Yang-ho called a press conference and said he was apologizing “as a father and head of Korean Air”.
Cho Yang-ho called his daughter’s conduct “foolish”, and added: “I beg the people to blame me for the current situation, because everything is my fault… I failed to properly educate my daughter.”
He also announced that his daughter would step down from all her posts in companies under the Cho family-owned Hanjin Group, which also owns Korean Air.
Heather Cho was the chief executive of KAL Hotel Network, Wangsan Leisure Development, and Hanjin Travel Service, and also a board director of Korean Air, according to Yonhap news agency.
The Hanjin Group is one of South Korea’s top family conglomerates, called chaebol.
Some South Koreans resent the chaebols for dominating the economy. Some of the families running these businesses have been accused of acting with impunity, and running companies with a lack of transparency or poor corporate governance.
Korean Air VP Heather Cho, who delayed a plane because she was angry with the way she had been served nuts by a flight attendant, has resigned, the airline announces.
Heather Cho, who is also the daughter of Korean Air chairman, had demanded the crew member be removed from a flight on December 5 for failing to serve the nuts on a plate.
The Incheon-bound flight had to taxi back to the terminal in New York.
Korean Air has apologized, but said Heather Cho had had the support of the pilot.
The flight eventually arrived in South Korea 11 minutes behind schedule.
Local media reports said that a junior attendant had offered Heather Cho macadamia nuts in a bag, instead of serving the nuts on a plate.
Heather Cho then questioned the chief flight attendant over in-flight service standards and ordered him off the plane.
The airline told Korea Times that checking quality of service was one of Heather Cho’s jobs, as she was responsible for in-flight service for the carrier.
It also said the crew member had replied with “lies and excuses” when challenged over the correct nut-serving procedure.
However, transport authorities are investigating whether Heather Cho’s actions infringed aviation law.
“Even though she is senior vice-president at the company, she was a passenger at that time, so she had to behave and be treated as a passenger,” a South Korea transport ministry official told reporters.
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