Society

Nut Rage



A flight to South Korea returned to the gate of John F. Kennedy International Airport before take-off on December 5, 2014. There were about 250 passengers including an executive of Korean Air, Cho Hyun-ah. Cho rebuked Chief Steward Park Chang-jin for inappropriate nut service by a stewardess before the departure. She reprimanded Park for not carrying out his duty of training stewards and forced the pilot to taxi back to the gate. Cho got much criticism after the incident spread to the public, not only for what she did on the flight, but also for what she did after the incident.

During the incident, Cho hit the chief steward with a file over and over again and suddenly dismissed him. She ordered Park to get off the plane, so flight KE096 returned from the runway and left the airport without a chief steward. This incident delayed the flight for about 20 minutes. As the incident received international attention, the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, and Transport decided to check violations according to the Aviation Safety and Security Act.

Korean Air made their position clear through documents that supported their position. The documents provided by Korean Air state Cho Hyun-ah took action when the steward served the macadamia nuts in a pack, pointing out the nuts should be served on a plate. However, according to the manual of flight service, the nuts should be served in a pack. On December 9, Cho resigned from the in-flight service and hotel business unit of Korean Air. However, this kind of incident is not the first time for Cho. She assaulted a flight attendant for inappropriate ramen service before, but it was covered up by the airline.

After the case in December became known to the public, Korean Air pressured Chief Steward Park to give false testimony about the incident. Cho then tried to spread a false rumor about Park having an improper relationship with a flight attendant. In the trial held in January, the flight attendant who served the nuts claimed that she was offered a teaching position at a KAL-affiliated college for false testimony.

Seoul Western District Court sentenced Cho Hyun-ah to one year imprisonment saying they doubted the defendant really feels sorry for what she has done. The day after the trial, she protested the court’s ruling and submitted an appeal. In addition, she tried to negotiate a settlement with Park and the flight attendant, but since Park wants Cho to be punished, he is refusing to take the money.

Nut rage spread worldwide through major media. The reason it became an issue is the abuse of power among jaebeol, or family-controlled conglomerates, is not a rare situation in Korean society. The public are angry over how they look down upon the regulations and laws of the country, and the way they misuse their power and networks to escape from getting punishment. There should be punishments to prevent executives in large companies from misusing their authority.