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Arrest warrant issued for former Korean Air VP

December 30, 2014
Cho Hyun-ah, former vice president of Korean Air, appeared at the Seoul Western Prosecutors' Office in Seoul on Dec. 17, 2014, to undergo interrogation over a flight delay at New York's JFK Airport. (Yonhap)

Cho Hyun-ah, former vice president of Korean Air, appeared at the Seoul Western Prosecutors’ Office in Seoul on Dec. 17, 2014, to undergo interrogation over a flight delay at New York’s JFK Airport. (Yonhap)

SEOUL (Yonhap) — A Seoul court issued an arrest warrant Tuesday for a former vice president of South Korea’s top airline, Korea Air Lines Co., who came under flak over a controversial air-rage incident early this month.

Cho Hyun-ah, the eldest daughter of Korean Air chairman Cho Yang-ho, resigned as the airline’s vice president for cabin service four days after a national uproar over her conduct aboard a Seoul-bound Korean Air flight from New York on Dec. 5.

The plane had already been taxiing when she ordered the chief flight attendant to deplane over the way she was served macadamia nuts — in an unopened pack instead of on a plate.

Cho said the crew did not follow the proper procedure for serving nuts to first-class passengers.

The flight was subsequently returned to the gate to deplane the purser, causing an 11-minute delay in its arrival at Seoul’s main gateway, Incheon International Airport. More than 250 passengers were on board.

The charges against Cho inluded violations of aviation safety regulations — changing flight plans and assaults on a plane — and coercion and interference in the execution of duty.

The court also issued an arrest warrant for a Korean Air executive, identified only by his surname Yeo, on charges of ordering employees to delete an initial report of the incident.