Cho Hyun-ah, who disrupted flight over bag of nuts, remains free after top court upheld her 10-month suspended jail term

This article is more than 2 years old

This article is more than 2 years old

A former Korean Air executive whose “nut rage” tantrum disrupted a flight in 2014 has remained free after South Korea’s highest court upheld her suspended prison term.



Cho Hyun-ah, the former vice president of the carrier, became infuriated when a flight attendant served her nuts in a bag rather than in a bowl.

She lambasted the chief steward over the behaviour of his cabin crew and ordered the Seoul-bound flight, which had just left the gate in New York, to turn back so he could be ejected.

The incident caused fury at home and made global headlines, eventually prompting Seoul prosecutors to charge her with offences including violating aviation security and business practices laws.

Cho was convicted on most counts and sentenced to a year in jail, but she was freed after the court of appeal cleared her of hampering an air route – the most serious charge – as the aircraft was still on the ground.

‘Nut queen’ uproar highlights Korean anger over elite Read more

It maintained the more minor convictions, including interfering with business practices, but reduced her penalty to 10 months in prison, suspended for two years. The supreme court upheld that ruling on Thursday.

Cho, who resigned from her position soon after the incident, spent a total of five months in jail.

The case – widely known as nut rage – renewed criticism in the South over the powerful family-run conglomerates that dominate the world’s 11th-largest economy.

The founding families of the conglomerates, called chaebol, have been criticised for running their global businesses like fiefdoms with minimum scrutiny by regulators.

Park Chang-jin, the chief steward who was ejected and forced to kneel before Cho while she admonished him, was later demoted after speaking out against her. Last month he announced he was suing Korean Air.