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Nut rage incident

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The Nut rage incident (also known as Nutgate) happened on 8 December 2014 at the John F. Kennedy International Airport, when the Korean Air former vice-president Heather Cho commanded the plane to taxi back to the airport after she was dissatisfied with a flight attendant's service in delivering macadamia nuts in the airplane. This incident was also dubbed "Nut rage" in the English press and "Nut return" (Korean: 땅콩 회항) locally.[1]

The controversy began after Cho received macadamia nuts in a closed bag, which upset her. Cho questioned the cabin crew chief about the standard procedure of serving the nuts. She then ordered the chief off the plane, creating a delay of approximately 20 minutes for the 250 people on-board. When the incident became public there was a popular backlash against Cho and Korean Air.

History

Macadamia nuts in a bowl

Initial incident and official report

On 8 December 2014, Heather Cho was at John F. Kennedy International Airport. She received macadamia nuts in a closed bag rather than on a plate.[2][3][4] Cho rebuked the flight attendant,[4] and called a cabin crew chief with complaints.[4] Under Cho's orders, the chief was allegedly forced to kneel down before her and beg for forgiveness, and was immediately fired.[5] Cho ordered the chief to get off the plane, requiring it to return to the airport, which created a delay of approximately 20 minutes for the 250 people on-board.[3][3][4][6][7]

Korean Air issued an apology to passengers, but attempted to justify Cho's action, saying it was in accordance with her job of inspecting in-flight service and airplane safety. They apologized for the inconvenience.[3][7] Initially, the minister of the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport said that the Aviation and Railway Accident Investigation Board was investigating the case.[3] An aggrieved first class passenger contacted the airline about the delay, and received a model airplane and a calendar in the mail as a form of apology.[8]

Controversy sparked

Following the flight attendant's dismissal, the airline contacted him over a dozen times, pressuring him to whitewash the story and state to the Korean transport authorities that he had voluntarily resigned. Two members of the "independent" investigative team assigned to the incident were former Korean Air employees.[9] According to the flight attendant, Korean Air officials were present at the investigation and were allowed to ask him questions. He determined that the government investigation would be unjust, and instead reported the incident directly to the media, causing an immediate firestorm.[10]

After the incident was made public, it was also revealed that in 2013 Cho had attacked a flight attendant who served her improperly cooked ramen. This incident had been covered up by the airline, who found no wrongdoing.[11]

When the incident became public there was a popular backlash against Cho and Korean Air. Korean Air responded to the popular anger by forcing Cho to resign from her job as vice-president. Contrary to the early cover-up, criminal charges are now being sought against her.[12] Korean Air is expected to be fined around USD $2 million,[13] According to the police, a company executive ordered employees to delete records of the incident.[14]

Heather Cho resigned her vice-president position in Korean Air,[1][15] but while she initially said she will resign from all positions, she kept her position as chairperson of Korean Air, president of KAL Hotel Network and Hanjin Tour.[7] She attended the investigation of Aviation and Railway Accident Investigation Board on 12 December,[16] saying she will issue an apology to the cabin crew chief and flight attendant in question.[6][16]

One of the reasons this incident received widespread coverage, particularly in Korea, was that it illustrates the widespread power (and abuse of it) by the members of Korean family businesses (chaebols).[17][18][19] Passenger rates on Korean Air domestic flights dropped 6.6% in December 2014, compared to the prior year.[20]

Trial

On 16 January 2015, a National Assembly member released papers from Cho's indictment which showed for the first time that the macadamia nuts had been properly served in a bag according to the service manual. Furthermore, Cho had been informed of this, and the specific reason she gave for the cabin crew chief's firing was that he had not informed her earlier.[21] The trial itself will begin on 19 January.

References

  1. ^ a b "Korean Air chief's daughter resigns after causing social uproar". Global Post. 9 December 2014.
  2. ^ "South Korea probes reports airline boss' daughter ordered attendant off plane". Yahoo News Canada. 8 December 2014.
  3. ^ a b c d e Nam, In-soo (8 December 2014). "Korean Air Executive Ejects Crew Member After Poor Nut Service". The Wall Street Journal. Retrieved 19 December 2014.
  4. ^ a b c d Han, Yeonghye (8 December 2014). "조현아 대한한공 부사장, '땅콩' 봉지째 받고 이륙 지연". Joongang Ilbo (in Korean). Retrieved 26 December 2014.
  5. ^ "'Nut rage': Prosecutors seek arrest for Korean Air executive". BBC News.
  6. ^ a b "Korean Air executive apologizes for macadamia nut controversy". Fortune. 12 December 2014. Retrieved 26 December 2014. {{cite journal}}: Unknown parameter |agency= ignored (help)
  7. ^ a b c "조현아 대한항공 부사장 '땅콩리턴' 논란, 출발에서 현재까지" [Heather Cho Vice president of Korean Air 'nuts rage controversy' from start to end]. KyungHyang (in Korean). 10 December 2014. Retrieved 19 December 2014.
  8. ^ "'땅콩회항' 일등석 승객 "조현아,고성·파일 던져"". NAVER (in Korean). 13 December 2014. Retrieved 19 January 2015.
  9. ^ "Daily News from Korea - Transport Ministry Must Submit to Independent Probe". The Chosun Ilbo (English Edition).
  10. ^ "Flight Attendant Kicked Off Korean Air Flight Alleges Cover-Up". The New York Times. 12 December 2014.
  11. ^ "'땅콩 회항' 조현아 부사장은 누구? 남편은 성형외과 의사 지난해 원정출산". Busan Times (in Korean). 9 December 2014.
  12. ^ "Arrest warrant sought for Korean Air heiress Heather Cho over outburst of macadamia nut service". ABC News. Australia.
  13. ^ "South Korea investigate Korean Air over Heather Cho outburst of nut service; company faces $2m fine". ABC News. Australia.
  14. ^ "Court issues arrest warrant against Korean Air heiress in 'nut rage' case". The Straits Times.
  15. ^ "Korean Air 'nut rage' executive Heather Cho resigns". BBC. 9 December 2014.
  16. ^ a b Hae-sik, Park (12 December 2014). "조현아 전 부사장 "사무장·승무원 직접만나 진심으로 사과하겠다"" [Heather Cho "I'll apology to Chief and flight attendant directly"]. Dong-a Ilbo (in Korean). Retrieved 26 December 2014.
  17. ^ "Why 'nut rage' is such a big deal in South Korea". Washington Post. 12 December 2014.
  18. ^ "Korea's Nut Rage scandal ends with victory for the little people - Fortune". Fortune.
  19. ^ "'Nut rage' exposes the many cracks in South Korea's elite". The Independent.
  20. ^ "大韓航空の国内線利用者６．６％減、"ナッツリターン"が影響か". 中央日報 (in Japanese). 18 January 2015. Retrieved 19 January 2015.
  21. ^ "責任者に「全部おまえのせい」＝大韓航空前副社長が「逆ギレ」―ナッツ事件・韓国". Yahoo Japan (in Japanese). Jiji Press. 16 January 2015. Retrieved 16 January 2015.

Further reading

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