- Joined
- Aug 8, 2008
- Messages
- 28,864
- Points
- 113
Finally this brat is punished and spells the end of privileges for the chaebol
http://www.wsj.com/articles/former-...ound-guilty-over-nut-rage-incident-1423742097
[h=1]Former Korean Air Executive Found Guilty Over ‘Nut Rage’ Incident
Cho Hyun-ah Sentenced to One Year in Prison[/h]
SEOUL—A South Korean court on Thursday sentenced the eldest daughter of Korean Air Lines Co. ’s chairman to a year in prison after finding her guilty of disrupting a flight in a case that has rekindled anger over the behavior of families that control South Korea’s big conglomerates.
Cho Hyun-ah was found guilty of violating aviation laws by ordering a departing jet to return to the terminal in New York in December to eject the head of the cabin crew. Shortly after boarding the plane, Ms. Cho flew into a rage over the way she was served macadamia nuts and ordered the crew member off the plane.
The court ruled that Ms. Cho, who was a Korean Air executive vice president at the time of the incident, was guilty of forcing the plane to change its route, in violation of aviation laws. In reading the sentence, Judge Oh Seung-woo said Ms. Cho knew the plane was moving when she ordered it to return shortly after leaving the gate.
“The sudden return of the plane could have caused an accident if there had been other planes nearby,” Judge Oh said.
The court also found Ms. Cho guilty of obstructing the flight’s captain in the performance of his duties, forcing the senior crew member off the plane and assaulting another crew member who served her the nuts.
The judge cleared her of the charge that she had interfered with the Transport Ministry’s probe into the case.
Prosecutors had sought a three-year prison term for Ms. Cho. In explaining the sentencing, the judge said it was the first time Ms. Cho had violated aviation law and added that she had shown some remorse.
A lawyer for Ms. Cho said her attorneys will soon decide if they will appeal the ruling.
Ms. Cho, in custody since Dec. 30, didn’t speak in court but wiped away tears with a tissue as the judge read a letter of remorse she had sent to the court days before the ruling. “I know my faults and I’m very sorry,” Ms. Cho wrote in the letter, according to the judge.
The letter also included details about how Ms. Cho, one of the richest women in South Korea and a regular first-class flier, was adjusting to the basic conditions of prison, where she has been held since being charged. “I was given only toilet paper, soap and underwear. But my fellow inmates lent me their toner, lotion, shampoo and conditioner. I was so thankful,” the letter said, according to the judge.
“They didn’t ask me anything about this case. I felt that this was indeed being considerate for others,” she added in the letter.
The “nut rage” case has been watched closely by the Korean public as the latest example of misbehavior by families of the powerful conglomerates, or chaebol, that dominate the local economy.
South Korea has a long history of giving light sentences to chaebol leaders convicted of crimes, or of later granting pardons and watering down punishments.
Ms. Cho has faced strong public criticism since Dec. 5, when she made the Seoul-bound jet return to the gate. “This is a case where human dignity was trampled upon,” Judge Oh said Thursday.
The cabin-crew chief testified in a court hearing last week that Ms. Cho behaved “like a beast” and treated the crew “like feudal slaves,” as she became abusive toward them in the incident.
The court also sentenced a Korean Air executive identified only by his surname Yeo to eight months in prison for interfering in the government investigation into the case.
A Transport Ministry official known only by his surname Kim who had been indicted on a charge of leaking classified information to Mr. Yeo was given a six-month prison sentence, suspended for one year.
Separately on Thursday, Korean Air said its fourth-quarter operating profit surged from a year earlier, helped by lower prices of imported jet fuel due to a drop in global oil prices. Operating profit totaled 152.9 billion won ($138 million) for the quarter, up from 17.8 billion won.
The company’s net loss, though, widened to 271.9 billion won from 56.9 billion won amid foreign-exchange losses on offshore debt and increased interest costs. Revenue fell 1% to 2.95 trillion won.
http://www.wsj.com/articles/former-...ound-guilty-over-nut-rage-incident-1423742097
[h=1]Former Korean Air Executive Found Guilty Over ‘Nut Rage’ Incident
Cho Hyun-ah Sentenced to One Year in Prison[/h]

SEOUL—A South Korean court on Thursday sentenced the eldest daughter of Korean Air Lines Co. ’s chairman to a year in prison after finding her guilty of disrupting a flight in a case that has rekindled anger over the behavior of families that control South Korea’s big conglomerates.
Cho Hyun-ah was found guilty of violating aviation laws by ordering a departing jet to return to the terminal in New York in December to eject the head of the cabin crew. Shortly after boarding the plane, Ms. Cho flew into a rage over the way she was served macadamia nuts and ordered the crew member off the plane.
The court ruled that Ms. Cho, who was a Korean Air executive vice president at the time of the incident, was guilty of forcing the plane to change its route, in violation of aviation laws. In reading the sentence, Judge Oh Seung-woo said Ms. Cho knew the plane was moving when she ordered it to return shortly after leaving the gate.
“The sudden return of the plane could have caused an accident if there had been other planes nearby,” Judge Oh said.
The court also found Ms. Cho guilty of obstructing the flight’s captain in the performance of his duties, forcing the senior crew member off the plane and assaulting another crew member who served her the nuts.
The judge cleared her of the charge that she had interfered with the Transport Ministry’s probe into the case.
Prosecutors had sought a three-year prison term for Ms. Cho. In explaining the sentencing, the judge said it was the first time Ms. Cho had violated aviation law and added that she had shown some remorse.
A lawyer for Ms. Cho said her attorneys will soon decide if they will appeal the ruling.
Ms. Cho, in custody since Dec. 30, didn’t speak in court but wiped away tears with a tissue as the judge read a letter of remorse she had sent to the court days before the ruling. “I know my faults and I’m very sorry,” Ms. Cho wrote in the letter, according to the judge.
The letter also included details about how Ms. Cho, one of the richest women in South Korea and a regular first-class flier, was adjusting to the basic conditions of prison, where she has been held since being charged. “I was given only toilet paper, soap and underwear. But my fellow inmates lent me their toner, lotion, shampoo and conditioner. I was so thankful,” the letter said, according to the judge.
“They didn’t ask me anything about this case. I felt that this was indeed being considerate for others,” she added in the letter.
The “nut rage” case has been watched closely by the Korean public as the latest example of misbehavior by families of the powerful conglomerates, or chaebol, that dominate the local economy.
South Korea has a long history of giving light sentences to chaebol leaders convicted of crimes, or of later granting pardons and watering down punishments.
Ms. Cho has faced strong public criticism since Dec. 5, when she made the Seoul-bound jet return to the gate. “This is a case where human dignity was trampled upon,” Judge Oh said Thursday.
The cabin-crew chief testified in a court hearing last week that Ms. Cho behaved “like a beast” and treated the crew “like feudal slaves,” as she became abusive toward them in the incident.
The court also sentenced a Korean Air executive identified only by his surname Yeo to eight months in prison for interfering in the government investigation into the case.
A Transport Ministry official known only by his surname Kim who had been indicted on a charge of leaking classified information to Mr. Yeo was given a six-month prison sentence, suspended for one year.
Separately on Thursday, Korean Air said its fourth-quarter operating profit surged from a year earlier, helped by lower prices of imported jet fuel due to a drop in global oil prices. Operating profit totaled 152.9 billion won ($138 million) for the quarter, up from 17.8 billion won.
The company’s net loss, though, widened to 271.9 billion won from 56.9 billion won amid foreign-exchange losses on offshore debt and increased interest costs. Revenue fell 1% to 2.95 trillion won.