Korean Air executive apologizes after nuts incident sparks national outrage

Ju-min Park, DECEMBER 11, 2014 / 11:52 PM

SEOUL (Reuters) - The former Korean Air Lines executive who delayed a flight because she
was unhappy with the way she was served macadamia nuts apologized on Friday over the
incident, which fueled outrage and ridicule in South Korea.

Heather Cho, the daughter of the airline’s chairman and head of in-flight service before she
stepped down from the post this week, also said she would apologize to the cabin crew
chief, who had been ordered to disembark, delaying the flight.

“I will apologize sincerely... in person,” Cho said in response to a question by a reporter as

she arrived at a transportation ministry office where she was expected to answer questions
about last Friday’s incident at New York’s John F. Kennedy International Airport.

Dressed in black, Cho, 40, emerged from a black Hyundai sedan at a building near Gimpo
International Airport. She stood before cameras but looked towards the ground as snow fell,
her voice barely audible. “I sincerely apologize for causing trouble for everyone. I’m sorry,”
she said. “I will truthfully answer questions,” said Cho, who is also under a separate
investigation by local prosecutors following a complaint filed by a civic group that accused
her of breaking multiple laws. The incident was first reported on Monday, and public outrage
grew after Korean Air issued what many in the country took to be a half-hearted apology
that rationalized her conduct in the face of inadequate performance by the cabin crew chief.
Others were pleased to hear that she regretted her behavior.

The event unfolding in the cabin led to confusion at JFK as flight crew and officials on the
ground discussed returning the plane to the gate to drop off the crew chief, and whether
they needed to replace him. Earlier on Friday, the airline’s chairman, Cho Yang-ho, said his
daughter was being removed from all posts at affiliate companies. She had already quit her
position as vice president. “I apologize to the people of this country as chairman of Korean
Air and as a father for the trouble caused by my daughter’s foolish conduct,” said Cho, who
bowed deeply in front of media crowded in the lobby of the airline’s headquarters.

His daughter, who was seated in first class on the flight, was displeased with being served
macadamia nuts in a bag and not a dish. The pilot brought the plane back to its gate for the
cabin crew chief to be expelled. The Airbus A380 arrived at Incheon, near Seoul, 11 minutes
behind schedule. The Transport Ministry said it was reviewing whether Heather Cho violated
aviation laws. She could face prosecution and a fine if found to have committed wrongdoing,
an official said. Investigators searched the offices of Korean Air on Thursday.

“I am sorry I did not educate her well,” her father said. The incident has stoked both mirth
and anger in South Korea, whose economy is dominated by powerful family-run
conglomerates known as chaebol. Local sales of macadamia nuts reportedly surged in the
days following news of the incident.
Korean Air executive jailed over 'nut rage'
By Madison Park and Paula Hancocks, Seoul, South Korea (CNN)

It started with a first-class aviation executive throwing a fit on a flight over her nuts. It ended
Thursday with that former executive sentenced to jail for one year.

Heather Cho was working for Korean Air on December 5 when, as a first-class passenger on an
international flight, an attendant served her macadamia nuts in a bag. Cho wanted them on a plate
and angrily demanded that the plane go back to the gate at New York's JFK airport so a crew member
could be kicked off the flight.

A South Korean judge said that her actions threatened the development of the aviation industry and
inconvenienced passengers, and ruled that she violated aviation law, changed a flight path and
interfered with operations.

Cho had the chief steward removed from the flight after the plane had left the gate. The flight
arrived 11 minutes behind schedule. A year in jail may seem just as extreme as freaking out over
nuts. But the flight attendant testified that she was pressured by another Korean Air manager to
keep quiet about Cho's behavior. Prosecutors said during her trial that there was a systematic
attempt to cover up the incident.

The judge blasted Cho for her conduct, saying that she had used the plane as if it were her personal
car and that as a passenger, she could not override crew members and give orders during a flight.
The case, dubbed "nut rage," gripped South Korea, especially because Cho is the Korean Air
chairman's daughter.

There is growing resentment over the perceived privileges and nepotism for the families that control
the country's top companies. Cho resigned as vice president at the company a few days after the
incident and publicly apologized, saying she accepted "full responsibility."

On Thursday, she appeared in court wearing a green prison uniform. She gazed downward the entire
time. Her hair hung in her face. "I don't know how to find forgiveness," she said. Park Chang-jin, the
chief steward who was booted from the flight, has said the former executive treated crew members
like "feudal slaves."

Details of Cho's behavior on the flight have emerged. Park and Kim Do Hee, the flight attendant who
served the nuts, had knelt in front of Cho in apology. Kim testified that Cho berated them about the
service, and later shoved and cursed her. When the flight arrived in Korea, the flight attendant said
another airline manager, Yeo Woon-jin, pressured her not to talk to investigators about Cho's
physically abusing her and Park. Yeo was found guilty of interfering with an investigation.

Following public fury over the December incident, Korean Air chairman Cho Yang-ho apologized to
the flight attendants and the public. Asked in court in January if he knew that his daughter
mistreated employees, he said, "I just heard that she's strict with her workers."