Biodun Iginla, BBC News

Biodun Iginla, BBC News
Showing posts with label korean airlines. Show all posts
Showing posts with label korean airlines. Show all posts

Friday, January 30, 2015

Korean Air head scolded daughter over 'nut rage' case


by Xian Wan and Biodun Iginla, BBC News, Seoul

Korean Air Chairman Cho Yang-ho arrives to testify at the court hearing of his daughter Cho Hyun-ah at the Seoul Western District court in Seoul on Friday Mr Cho said he had castigated his daughter over the incident

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The Korean Air chief, Cho Yang-ho, has told a court he scolded his 40-year-old daughter for ejecting an air steward in a now infamous "nut rage" incident.
Both father and daughter apologised to the court for the incident, which erupted when Cho Hyun-ah was served nuts in a packet rather than on a plate.
Ms Cho appeared in green prison overalls, her hair falling over her face and speaking in a whisper.
She could face 10 years in jail.
She has denied forcing the flight attendant and the cabin crew chief to kneel and beg forgiveness while she shouted abuse.
In court, the attendant who mis-served the nuts said she was pushed by Ms Cho, a push now alleged to amount to a criminal assault.
Ms Cho is also accused of interfering with the execution of duty and coercing employees to give false testimony.
The case has sparked a storm in South Korea, highlighting nepotism within the country's mighty conglomerates, or "chaebol", and the perceived arrogance of the offspring of chaebol chiefs.
Ms Cho and her siblings have all served as executives with Korean Air.
'Uncontrolled emotions' Plenty of humble pie is being eaten by some of South Korea's most privileged people in the aftermath of this incident, says the BBC's Steve Evans in Seoul.
"It was wrong to get a crew member off the flight no matter what the reason," Mr Cho told the court, during his first appearance in the witness box, according to Reuters news agency.
Cho Hyun-ah bows her head as she is led into detention on 30 December 2014 Ms Cho has consistently adopted a posture of childlike repentance in a country known for filial piety and generational hierarchy
"I have scolded her for not controlling her emotions and [for] expelling the crew member," he said as his daughter appeared to wipe away tears.
He apologised to the crew chief whom Mr Cho forced to leave the flight, and promised he would face no reprisals if he chose to stay in his job.
Ms Cho ordered the plane to return to the gate while it was taxiing to the runway in New York on 5 December to eject the crew chief, causing an 11-minute delay to its arrival in South Korea.
The female flight attendant who served the nuts also gave testimony on Friday, saying she was pushed and had a service manual thrown at her by Ms Cho during the incident.
She said she was subsequently pressured to accept an apology from Ms Cho in exchange for a job as a professor, but did not accept.

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Monday, January 19, 2015

Korean Air executive 'nut rage' trial begins


by Xian Wan and Biodun Iginla, BBC Newsbeat Online

Cho Hyun-ah Ms Cho publicly apologised and resigned from all her posts at the company

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The trial has begun in Seoul of a South Korean airline executive who flew into a rage when macadamia nuts were served to her in a bag and not on a plate.
Cho Hyun-ah, a former vice president of Korean Air, ordered her plane that was taxiing to return to the gate and offload the chief steward.
The "nut rage" incident occurred on a Seoul-bound flight from New York on 5 December.
On Monday, she pleaded not guilty to charges of obstructing aviation safety.
Forty-year-old Ms Cho, who has been detained since 30 December, was wearing a green prison uniform in the packed courtroom.
She stood with her head lowered and answered questions in a whisper.
Cameramen take images of a prison bus carrying Korean Air heiress Cho Hyun-Ah as she arrives at a court in Seoul on January 19, 2015. Ms Cho was brought to the court in a prison bus
Ms Cho's lawyers argued in the opening statement that the charges were based on "exaggerated statements" and that the safety violations were minor given the plane was still on the ground and had not yet reached the runway.
Ms Cho, who is the daughter of Korean Air chief executive Cho Yang-ho, is also accused of interfering in the execution of a government official's duty and coercion, according to prosecutors, who said she allegedly exerted influence in the government investigation.
She faces a maximum 10 years in jail if found guilty of diverting the aircraft with no good reason.
She publicly apologised for the incident and resigned from all her posts at the airline in December.
However, the story was widely seen as an example of poor management in South Korea's family-run conglomerates, or "chaebols" that dominate the country's business landscape.
The Korean transport ministry said it would place sanctions on Korean Air of a ban on some routes or fines of up to $2m (£1.3m).

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Tuesday, December 30, 2014

'Nut rage': Korean Air ex-executive Cho Hyun-ah detained


by Xian Wan and Biodun Iginla, BBC Newsbeat Online

Cho Hyun-Ah (centre) is surrounded by journalists outside a court in Seoul on 30 December 2014 Ms Cho bowed her head to obscure her face and told reporters: "I'm sorry"

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A former Korean Air executive who delayed a plane over how nuts were served has been detained.
TV footage showed Cho Hyun-ah being led away, shortly after a court in South Korea granted a warrant for her arrest.
Ms Cho, the daughter of Korean Air's chief executive, is being charged with violating aviation safety law and impeding crew in their duties.
She ordered the plane to turn back on the runway in New York after nuts were served in a bag, not on a plate.
She has denied physically assaulting the chief steward, Park Chang-jin, who says she made him kneel and beg for forgiveness before jabbing him with a document folder.
Cho Hyun-ah arrives at the Seoul Western District Prosecutors Office in Seoul, South Korea, Tuesday 30 December 2014 Ms Cho allegedly shouted abuse at a flight attendant after he served her macadamia nuts in a bag
Ms Cho, also known as Heather Cho, has already apologised and resigned as head of the airline's flight service.
TV images late on Tuesday showed the 40-year-old Cho being taken away by prosecutors, with her head bowed. When asked by reporters for a comment, she said: "I'm sorry."
Another airline executive has also been arrested, accused of destroying evidence relating to the case.
South Korea's transport ministry said this month that it would take disciplinary measures against the airline in the wake of the incident.
Cho Hyun-ah leaves for a detention facility after a Korean court ordered her to be detained, at the Seoul Western District Prosecutor's office on 30 December 2014 Ms Cho was taken to a detention centre after a court in Seoul granted a warrant for her arrest
Korean Air could face either a partial flight ban or a fine, the ministry said.
A government investigation found that Ms Cho screamed and shouted abuse at a flight attendant after he served her macadamia nuts in a bag.
She then ordered the plane to go back to the terminal at New York's JFK airport to offload the attendant, who was fired on the spot before the plane proceeded on its journey. He has since been reinstated.
The incident forced the flight to Seoul to be delayed.
Her father, Korean Air chairman Cho Yang-Ho, has apologised for his daughter's "foolish act".
Mr Cho also said his daughter would step down from all her posts in companies under the Cho family-owned Hanjin Group, which also owns Korean Air.
The Hanjin Group is one of South Korea's top family conglomerates, called chaebol.
Correspondents say the incident has started a debate in South Korea about whether the country's large family firms unduly favour the children of the owners.

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Saturday, December 13, 2014

Korean Air executive 'made steward bow over nut rage'


by Xian Wan and Biodun Iginla, BBC News Website

Heather Cho spoke so quietly at a news conference she could barely be heard

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A cabin crew chief says he was forced to kneel and ask forgiveness by the daughter of Korean Air's chairman, before being ordered off a flight.
Heather Cho, who was an executive at the airline, was furious after being served nuts in a bag, not on a plate.
Describing the incident for the first time, the head steward said the company tried to persuade him to change his story.
The incident has sparked anger and mockery across South Korea.
'Insulted and shamed' Ms Cho was in first class on a Korean Air flight leaving New York for Incheon in South Korea last week when she demanded a crew member be removed for the manner in which he had served her macadamia nuts.
"People who haven't experienced [such abuse] will not understand that feeling of being insulted and shamed," head steward Park Chang-jin told South Korea's KBS television network.
After being confronted about the nuts, he said he was made to kneel down in front of the executive before Ms Cho yelled for the crew to "call right now and stop the plane".
"I will stop this plane from leaving," she is said to have shouted.
A Korean Air plane sits on the tarmac at Seoul airport - 9 December 2014 Heather Cho forced the plane to return to the gate and made the cabin crew chief take another flight
Mr Park said that in such a situation, he did not dare to refuse the "owner's daughter". He left the plane and returned to South Korea on a different flight.
Once home, officials from the airline came to his home to ask him to say that Ms Cho did not use abusive language and that he voluntarily got off the plane, he said.
Korean Air initially defended Ms Cho, noting that she was responsible for overseeing flight service in her role as vice-president, but the company later apologised.
Top family The government says it is looking into whether Ms Cho, heiress to her father's fortune, violated safety regulations by ordering the plane back to the gate.
On Friday, she bowed in apology when she spoke to reporters outside a government building, where she was due to meet transport officials.
Her father also held a news conference and apologised "as a father and head of Korean Air" for the incident.
Mr Cho said his daughter would step down from all her posts in companies under the Cho family-owned Hanjin Group, which also owns Korean Air.
The Hanjin Group is one of South Korea's top family conglomerates, called chaebol.
Some South Koreans resent chaebols for dominating the economy and many accuse them of acting with impunity.
The Cho family has made headlines before. Mr Cho was at the epicentre of a tax evasion and embezzlement scandal in the late 1990s and was later jailed for seven months.

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