Kim Rahn is the managing editor of The Korea Times. Since joining the company in 2003, she has covered various beats including the presidential office, Seoul city government, the Bank of Korea and the tourism industry. In 2014, she won the Society of Publishers in Asia (SOPA) award for her coverage of the ordeals of migrant women in Korea.
Korean Air headquarters raided in 'nut rage' probe
Prosecution imposes travel ban on chairman’s daughter
By Kim Rahn
The prosecution raided the headquarters of Korean Air in western Seoul Thursday as part of its investigation into former Senior Vice President Heather Cho’s inappropriate behavior on board a plane, including her alleged yelling at flight attendants and ordering the aircraft to return to the gate.
Prosecutors are considering imposing an overseas travel ban on Cho.
Investigators from the Seoul Western District Prosecutors’ Office secured documents about the flight at the headquarters and the airline firm’s office at Incheon International Airport.
The raid comes a day after the People’s Solidarity for Participatory Democracy filed a complaint against her with the prosecutors’ office.
Cho quit as the airline’s senior vice president Wednesday following mounting public criticism because she ordered a chief flight attendant to get off the plane due to her dissatisfaction with a junior attendant for serving her a packet of macadamia nuts without removing them from a bag and putting them on a plate. To get him off the plane, the aircraft had to return to the departure gate at JFK International Airport in New York on Dec. 5.
Prosecutors also plan to secure the black box from the KE086 flight, as well as flight records.
“We made the raid immediately after the complaint as there is possibility of evidence fabrication,” a prosecutor said.
After analyzing the secured materials, the prosecution will consider whether to summon Cho.
Separately from the prosecution, the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport is also investigating the case and will question Cho today.
“We told Korean Air to have Cho present herself at the ministry’s office near Gimpo International Airport on Friday morning,” said ministry director Lee Kwang-hee during a briefing at the Sejong Government Complex.
“She first said she could not answer the summons on Friday, but later said she would come at 3 p.m.”
Korean Air also said in a press release that Cho would cooperate with the ministry’s investigation.
Since Monday, an eight-member team from the ministry has been investigating the incident. They interviewed 10 people, including the chief flight attendant who was kicked off the plane, the pilot and other flight attendants on board.
“We planned to finish the inspection by Wednesday, but those people gave different accounts about what happened, such as whether Cho yelled or not,” Lee said.
It is also alleged that the airline company inspected the phone message records of flight attendants in hopes of discovering the identity of a whistleblower, and there were concerns that those attendants may be pressured not to give testimony against Cho.
In the interests of objectivity and fairness, Lee said the ministry needs to interview passengers as witnesses, especially the other passenger who was in the first-class cabin with Cho. The two were the only first-class passengers on the flight, according to the carrier.
The ministry asked Korean Air to hand over the list of passengers and their contact information. According to the law on privacy protection, the carrier can provide this information to the ministry only when the passengers give their consent to it.
“We asked for the information two days ago, but the carrier hasn’t given any yet,” Lee said. “Without the carrier’s cooperation, we may have difficulty questioning witnesses.”
The ministry also told the carrier to submit the records of conversations between the pilot and the flight dispatcher at the airline’s New York office. It also asked the airport authority at JFK to provide records of conversations between the pilot and the control tower.
“After confirming the facts, we’ll see whether her acts violated the Aviation Law or Aviation Safety Law and, if so, we’ll take legal action,” Lee said.
In the meantime, Korean Air’s labor union has called on Cho to apologize to the company workers, saying that Cho’s scolding of the chief flight attendant in front of other passengers infringed on his human rights and damaged the carrier’s reputation.
“The management should respect human rights and improve employees’ working conditions,” said the union in a statement, adding that the workers involved should not be punished or face other disadvantages.