Court orders Korean Air to compensate 'nut rage' victim

Former chief flight attendant Park Chang-jin speaks to the press at Gangseo Police Station in Seoul prior to former Executive Vice President Heather Cho’s indictment in early May. / Korea Times photo by Seo Jae-hoon

By Kim Jae-heun

The Seoul Western District Court ordered Korean Air, Wednesday, to pay former chief flight attendant Park Chang-jin 20 million won ($17,779) in compensation for his suffering from the so-called “nut rage” incident.

However, the court dismissed his claim for compensation from the carrier's former Executive Vice President Heather Cho, the elder daughter of the conglomerate's owner.

Park filed the suit after Cho forced him off an Incheon-bound plane as it was taxiing for takeoff at JFK International Airport in New York in 2014 as she was angry with the way a junior flight attendant served her macadamia nuts.

He also claimed the company forced him to give a false testimony during the investigation and demoted him after the incident.

The court recognized the company's responsibility for the coercion of false testimony, ordering Korean Air to pay compensation.

It also acknowledged Cho's liability for compensation for assaulting him on the plane, but said she didn't have to pay the 30 million won Park claimed because she had already paid a 200 million won deposit to personally compensate Park and the junior female flight attendant. Park had refused to take this saying he wanted a sincere apology from Cho.

The court also dismissed Park's call to nullify his demotion. Park took about a year-long break after the incident and returned to work in May 2016, but the airliner demoted him from his chief position.

While Park argued it was a retaliatory act against him, Korean Air argued Park had scored low in his in-flight announcement test that took place in March 2014 before the incident.

In December 2014, Cho kicked Park off the plane which had already left the gate after ordering the pilot to return to it.

She became angry after the junior attendant served her macadamia nuts in a bag, not spread on a plate. She held Park accountable for the “poor service,” and assaulted him before forcing him off the plane.

The prosecution indicted Cho on several charges including acts of violence that threatened flight safety and interfered with business. Cho was sentenced to one year in prison, however, an appeals court freed her by converting this to a suspended term.