South Korean prosecutors set to arrest ‘nut rage’ official

[Eugene]

Source: Associated Press

South Korean prosecutors set to arrest ‘nut rage’ official

Associated Press in Seoul
The Guardian, Wednesday 24 December 2014 09.09 GMT

South Korean prosecutors are seeking to arrest the former executive at Korean Air Lines who forced a flight to return in a row over a bag of macadamia nuts and a current executive for attempts to cover up the “nut rage” case.

Seoul western prosecutors’ office said on Wednesday that Cho Hyun-ah faces charges including inflight violence and changing a flight route. The current airline executive, a 57-year-old man surnamed Yeo, faces charges of pressuring airline employees to cover up the incident, according to an official at the prosecutors’ office.

Cho, the daughter of the Korean Air chairman, earlier this month resigned as vice-president at the airline and from all roles from the airline’s affiliates as public outrage mounted over her behaviour. On 5 December she forced a plane bound for South Korea from the US to return to a gate and forced off a flight attendant because the nuts were served in a bag and not on a plate.

Prosecutors launched an investigation over the incident after a civic group filed a complaint against Cho. Last week, the transport ministry also reported Cho to prosecutors and said it would sanction Korean Air Lines for pressuring employees to lie during a government inquiry.

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Read more: http://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/dec/24/south-korea-arrest-nut-rage-official-cho-hyun-ah

[Jesus Malverde]

1. Korea is a strange place.

It's modern on one level but beneath the surface there is a lot of corruption and nepotism.

The "Chaebol" system serves as a petri dish for the bacteria of corruption.

[bemildred]

2. Sounds like their justice system still works, at least occasionally.

Here they would have given her a promotion and a raise.

[Jesus Malverde]

3. In some ways they are very similar.

The corruption can be hidden in plain sight.

[bemildred]

4. I've been there (1990s) and one of my kids works there as a teacher.

So yeah, but not as bad as us. They cannot really afford to be as corrupt as we are.