“Cho Hyun-ah continuously blames crewmen and the chief flight attendant. It is difficult to judge that Cho had sincerely apologized and showed remorse for the incident. Also, she systematically interfered with the investigation carried out by the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport following the incident.”
- A prosecutor during Cho’s trial at the Seoul Western District Court
In the trial, prosecutors asked the court to deliver a three-year prison term for Cho. (image: Yonhap)
SEOUL, Feb. 2 (Korea Bizwire) — Prosecutors sought a three-year prison term on February 2 for a former vice president of South Korea’s top airline, Korean Air Lines charged with obstructing aviation safety after she ordered a crew member to deplane over in-flight service in December.
Cho Hyun-ah, the eldest daughter of the airline’s chairman, ordered a senior crew member to deplane after being served macadamia nuts in an unopened pack instead of on a plate on Dec. 5. The Seoul-bound flight was subsequently returned to the gate at John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York to deplane the purser.
Prosecutors charged her with violations of aviation safety regulations — changing flight plans and assault on a plane — and coercion and interference in the execution of duty.
Cho was additionally charged with interfering in the execution of a government official’s duty as she had allegedly exerted influence in the government investigation.
The plane had already been taxiing when she ordered the chief flight attendant to deplane. She was angry because she believed the crew did not follow the proper procedure for serving nuts to first-class passengers. The return of the plane caused an 11-minute delay in its arrival at Seoul’s main gateway, Incheon International Airport. More than 250 passengers were on board.
In the same trial, prosecutors asked the court to deliver a two-year prison term for a Korean Air executive, identified only by his surname Yeo, who was charged with ordering employees to delete an initial report of the incident.
Also, a two-year prison term was sought against a transportation ministry official, surnamed Kim, who was indicted on charges of leaking details of a government investigation into the case.
Cho resigned as a vice president of cabin service four days after a national uproar erupted over her conduct.
(Yonhap)
