Row Over Macadamia Nuts On Plane Lands Korean Air Heiress In Prison

Jonah Hicap Thursday, January 08, 2015

Cho Hyun-ah (C), also known as Heather Cho, daughter of chairman of Korean Air Lines, Cho Yang-ho, leaves for a detention facility after a Korean court ordered her to be detained, at the Seoul Western District Prosecutor's office Dec. 30, 2014 | REUTERS/Kim Hong-Ji

Prosecutors have reportedly charged Korean Air heiress Cho Hyun-ah, also known as Heather Cho, with violating aviation safety law and interfering in government investigation over a "nut rage" incident on a flight from New York to Seoul last December.

Cho's indictment stemmed from an incident last Dec. 5 when she ordered a Korean Air plane to return to the gate at JFK International Airport after it began taxiing because she was served macadamia nuts in a bag and not on a dish by a flight attendant.

She ordered the purser of the flight, Park Chang-jin, to get off the plane because of the incident. She was also accused of assaulting him and a flight attendant.

Cho, who has been in police custody since Dec. 30, apologized for the incident and resigned from her positions as vice president of the airline and in other related companies.

In a separate charge, Cho is accused of interfering in the investigation of Korea's Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transportation into the incident last December.

She allegedly ordered Korean Air officials to cover up the case.

As a result, a Korean Air official has been charged with destroying evidence and telling a witness to give favorable testimony for the benefit of Cho.

A ministry official is accused of leaking information about the investigation to Korean Air.

The purser said he was ordered to revise his testimony more than 10 times.

The "nut rage" incident drew public outrage. Cho has been accused of using her power as official of the airline and heiress against the flight crew.

Days after the incident, her father, Cho Yang-ho, who is the chairman of Korean Air, publicly apologized and bowed his head over the incident. He announced that she would be removed from all her positions.

In addition, prosecutors will also investigate the alleged personal favors given to transport ministry officials by the airline.

The ministry admitted that the way the investigation was conducted by its own officers was flawed.