An on board tantrum dubbed "nut rage" culminated Thursday in a one-year prison sentence for Korean Air heiress Cho Hyun-ah, a humiliating rebuke that only partially quelled public outrage at the excesses of South Korea's business elite.
Cho Hyun-ah, the daughter of Korean Air’s chairman, achieved worldwide notoriety after she ordered the chief flight attendant off a Dec. 5 flight, forcing it to return to the gate at John F. Kennedy Airport in New York.
Head of cabin service at the time of the incident, Cho was angered she had been offered macadamia nuts in a bag instead of on a dish. A heated confrontation with members of the crew in first class ensued.
“Cho is guilty of forcing a flight to change its route, obstructing the flight’s captain in the performance of his duties and forcing a crew member off a plane. It finds her not guilty of interfering with a transport ministry investigation into the incident” the court said.
Cho, in custody since Dec. 30, wiped away tears with a tissue as a letter expressing her remorse was read to the court by head judge Oh Seong-woo.
The letter included details about how Cho, one of the richest women in South Korea who regularly flew first class, was adjusting to the basic conditions of her prison and reflecting on her life. “I know my faults and I’m very sorry,” Cho said in her letter.
By Lee Jae-seung Prosecutors had called for three years in prison.
