A high court will issue its verdict on Cho Hyun-ah, former executive vice president of Korean Air at the center of the so-called “nut rage” incident, on Friday.
Cho received a one-year jail term in February for disrupting a flight and breaking aviation safety laws over her dissatisfaction with the cabin service.
Shortly after, the attorney for the former Korean Air executive appealed the case to reduce her initial sentence, pleading that she was “deeply regretful about her actions.”
Former Korean Air executive Cho Hyun-ah (Yonhap)
The “nut rage” case began when the 40-year-old de facto heiress of Korean Air ordered a departing jet from New York to Seoul in December 2014 to return to the terminal gate at John F. Kennedy International Airport, in order to deplane the manager of the cabin crew.
Cho had been dissatisfied with the way that a flight attendant had served her macadamia nuts -- in a bag and not on a plate. Angered by the service, she went on a rampage, assaulting the crew member and the cabin crew manager for poorly carrying out his duties.
The Seoul Seobu District Court found Cho guilty of forcing flight route deviation, obstructing aviation safety regulations, disrupting the flight and physically and verbally assaulting two cabin crew members.
During the appeals hearing last month, the prosecution called for a three-year jail term for Cho, asserting that “a one-year prison term is too light, given the gravity of the case, the scale of the extensive damages and Cho’s attitude.”
Kim Do-hee, the flight attendant at the center of the case, filed a petition to the court last weekend, claiming that the “nut rage” case led to “serious damages to her psyche and reputation.”
“The 14 hours on board of serving former executive vice president Cho Hyun-ah was filled with memories of fear and anxiety,” Kim wrote. “I cannot even fathom returning to Korean Air, in fear or retribution from the Cho family.”
In March, Kim also filed a civil lawsuit in a U.S. court, seeking further compensation from Cho.
The appeals verdict for the case will be delivered at 10 a.m. on Friday at the Seoul High Court.
By Sohn Ji-young (jys@heraldcorp.com)