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Korean Air heiress faces second ‘nut rage’ case suit in US

July 24, 2015

Korean Air’s ex-vice president Heather Cho (Korea Times file)

SEOUL, July 24 (Yonhap) — The heiress of Korean Air Lines Co. has been sued in a New York court by an employee involved in last year’s “nut rage” incident, industry sources said Friday, marking the second case of legal action taken against her in the United States.

In the lawsuit filed with the Supreme Court of the State of New York on Thursday, Korean Air purser Park Chang-jin sought compensation for emotional and physical damages against former vice president Cho Hyun-ah for last year’s in-flight commotion widely known as the nut rage incident, according to the sources.

On Dec. 5, Cho forced Park to disembark from an Incheon-bound flight in New York, and after she reportedly threw a fit over some macadamia nuts that were not served to her liking.

The latest litigation comes several months after Kim Do-hee, another flight attendant from the incident, filed a similar suit against both Cho and Korean Air at the New York court.

Cho’s legal representatives have asked the U.S. court to dismiss Kim’s suit for the sake of efficiency, arguing that the case will be better handled at a South Korean court for practical reasons, and also said they are planning to take similar action against Park’s lawsuit.

Last month, the Seoul High Court sentenced Cho to 10 months in prison but suspended the term for two years for changing the aircraft’s flight route at the time when she forced off Park the plane.

Prosecutors said they have submitted an appeal to have the court’s decision reversed.