Korean Prosecutors seek arrest warrant of owners daughter for Korean Air “nut rage” incident

Korean Prosecutors seek arrest warrant of owners daughter for Korean Air “nut rage” incident
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Korean Prosecutors seek arrest warrant for Korean Air “nut rage” incident
Posted on : Dec.24,2014 18:09 KST
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Former Korean Air Vice President Cho Hyun-ah’s hair flaps in a strong wind as she enters the west Seoul branch of the Supreme Prosecutors‘ Office for questioning, Dec. 17. (by Lee Jong-geun, staff photographer)
Former Vice President Cho Hyun-ah could face a year in prison for forcing flight to return to the gate
　
Prosecutors investigating the turnaround of Korean Air Flight A380 in New York requested a preliminary arrest warrant on Dec. 24 for the airline’s former vice president Cho Hyun-ah.
Cho, 40, was charged the day before with flight course alteration according to the Aviation Act, a crime that carries a maximum sentence of over one year in prison.
Other charges against Cho included violent acts obstructive to safe flying, which carries a sentence of up to five years, and obstruction of operations using coercion and authority. Prosecutors also requested a preliminary arrest warrant for a Korean Air executive director surnamed Yeo, 57, on charges of evidence destruction and coercion for allegedly persuading the flight’s purser and cabin crew members to give false testimony.
As reasons for requesting arrest warrants, the fifth criminal division of Seoul West District Prosecutors’ Office cited the “violation of the purser’s individual rights and disruption of order on the aircraft,” noting that the purser, who had the authority of a judicial police officer on the flight, was forced off the aircraft by Cho’s violent actions - as well as the authority of her family, which owns Korean Air - after it had already left the gate.
The division, headed by chief prosecutor Lee Geun-su, also said it had confirmed that “Korean Air employees were enlisted to fabricate, destroy, and conceal evidence through coercion to give false testimony and draft false documents even after a major incident had occurred in which an aircraft was recklessly forced off the flight path permitted by the control tower, threatening air safety within the airport.”
The charge against Cho of altering an aircraft’s course carries a heavy sentence of anywhere from one to ten years in prison.
Prosecutors reported finding evidence of telephone messages and instant messages on the service Kakao Talk showing Yeo reporting to Cho about the coercion of purser Park Chang-jin and cabin crew members to give false testimony. But Yeo has strenuously denied ordering the destruction of evidence against Cho, sources said. For now, the prosecutors are requesting an arrest warrant for Cho on charges other than incitement to evidence destruction, while conducting an additional investigation to acquire more evidence.
Prosecutors also reportedly obtained a message from Yeo apologizing to Cho for his “responsibility” for failing to control the situation after it was reported in the media. Additionally, they plan to act on a Dec. 23 request to investigate a Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport examiner who arranged for a Korean Air executive to be present during Park’s questioning.
Meanwhile, People’s Solidarity for Participatory Democracy requested that the Board of Audit and Inspection perform a public interest audit on the ministry. The group argues that the audit should focus on the “slipshod” early investigation of Korean Air and the decision to have the Korean Air executive present when a victimized party was questioned.
　
By Oh Seung-hoon and Kim kyu-nam, staff reporters