Korean Air heiress jailed

The daughter of Korean Air's chairman was jailed for one year yesterday over a notorious "nut rage" incident that triggered an uproar over the behaviour of South Korea's business dynasties.

The district court in Seoul convicted Cho Hyun-Ah of violating aviation safety law by forcing a taxiing New York-Seoul KAL flight to return to its departure gate on December 5.

Cho, who was the airline's executive vice president at the time, had insisted on expelling the chief purser from the plane after taking exception to being served macadamia nuts in a bag, rather than a bowl.

The 40-year-old had treated the flight "as if it was her own private plane", Justice Oh Sung-Woo said, adding that the case had become the object of international ridicule and "damaged the dignity" of the country.

Cho, clad in a pale green jail suit and with her head bowed so that her hair partially obscured her face, occasionally reached up to wipe away tears as the judge read his ruling.

She was also convicted of assault on the cabin crew.

The chief steward, Park Chang-Jin, had testified that Cho had made him kneel and beg for forgiveness while jabbing him with a service manual.