A Seoul court on Thursday sentenced a former Korean Air executive to a year in prison for aviation law violations that stemmed from her inflight tantrum over how she was served macadamia nuts.
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 and physical confrontation with members of the crew in first class ensued.
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The court sentenced Yeo Woon-jin, a Korean Air executive who pressured employees to lie about the nut rage case, to eight months in prison.
Transport ministry official Kim Woon-sub was found guilty of leaking the ministry’s investigation to the airline. He received a six month prison sentence suspended for one year.
