Heather Cho to be indicted this week

Heather Cho, a former Korean Air vice president, will be indicted this week over a “nut-rage” incident, prosecutors said Tuesday.

Cho, the eldest daughter of the airline’s Chairman Cho Yang-ho, resigned from the post following a huge public uproar over her misconduct aboard a Seoul-bound Korean Air flight from New York on Dec. 5.

The Seoul Western District Prosecutors’ Office said they will put her on trial this week.

The charges against Cho will include violations of aviation safety regulations ― changing flight plans and assault on a plane ― and coercion and interference in the execution of duty, according to the office.

Cho had already been detained since Dec. 30 after a local court issued a warrant, citing “the gravity of the issue as well as the organized efforts to cover up her involvement from the initial stage.”

The prosecution office said it also plans to indict a Korean Air executive, identified only by his surname Yeo, on charges of ordering employees to delete an initial report of the incident.

A transportation ministry official, surnamed Kim who leaked details of a government investigation into the case to Yeo, will also be indicted, they said.