Ex-Korean Air Executive in ‘Nut Rage’ Case Freed From Prison After Sentence Is Cut
By CHOE SANG-HUN

SEOUL, South Korea — A former Korean Air vice president who incited international condemnation by ordering a plane back to its gate in a rage over how she was served macadamia nuts was released from prison on Friday after an appeals court judge reduced her sentence.

The former executive, Cho Hyun-ah, 41, was sentenced to 10 months in prison on Friday on charges of violating aviation safety laws. But the appeals court suspended the sentence for two years, meaning that she will not serve time in prison as long as she does not commit a crime in the next two years.

Ms. Cho, whose father is the chairman of Korean Air, had been jailed since her arrest in late December and was sentenced to one year in prison in a lower-court ruling in February.

Ms. Cho became an object of international ridicule after she forced a Korean Air plane to return to the gate at Kennedy International Airport in New York on Dec. 5 so that the chief flight attendant could be removed.

She became angry that a first-class flight attendant had served the nuts without first asking her, then in an unopened package rather than on a plate, according to court documents.

On Friday, Kim Sang-hwan, the presiding judge at the Seoul High Court, reduced her punishment after striking down one of the charges against Ms. Cho: illegally forcing the plane to change its route.

That charge had been hotly contested during the hearings of the lower court trial. Ms. Cho’s attorneys insisted that forcing the plane back to the gate shortly after leaving it, well before the plane approached a runway for takeoff, did not constitute “changing a route” — an argument Judge Kim accepted on Friday.

The judge also acknowledged that Ms. Cho repented for her conduct while living in prison away from her twin babies.

“There was no reason to doubt her sincerity,” he said, adding that Ms. Cho would have to deal with “the social stigma” that she had received because of her so-called nut rage. Prosecutors said that during the episode, Ms. Cho used abusive language and threw documents at one of the flight attendants.

Her behavior set off outrage in South Korea, where many harbor deep misgivings about the perceived arrogance of the families who control the country’s major conglomerates. Ms. Cho, who was fired by her father after her scandal erupted, has repeatedly apologized and asked for lenience during her trial.

韓航千金二審獲緩刑 當庭釋放

南韓首爾高等法院廿二日判決，大韓航空前副社長趙顯娥去年「堅果返航」的行為不違反「航空保安法」中關於變更飛機航道的規定，從初審判處有期徒刑一年，降低刑度為十個月、緩刑兩年，並當庭予以釋放。趙顯娥去年十二月卅日被收押，計在押一百四十三天。

趙顯娥去年十二月五日搭乘紐約飛往仁川的韓航班機頭等艙，在飛機駛向跑道還未起飛時，認為空服員未遵守送上堅果應放在碟子上的規定，怒斥空服員並喝令對方下跪道歉，還對空服員和座艙長怒罵動粗，最後要求機長將飛機開回登機門，趕座艙長下機。趙顯娥是大韓航空會長（董事長）趙亮鎬的女兒。

檢方年初對趙顯娥提起公訴，指她涉嫌違反航空保安法相關規定、行使暴力妨礙飛安、強迫他人、利用職務妨礙公務執行等。趙顯娥的辯護律師四月初抗訴時表示，趙顯娥的行為不涉及航空保安法中有關變更飛機航道的規定，機坪不能視為航道。

法官廿二日判決趙顯娥涉嫌迫使客機變更航路部分無罪，認為她在拘留期間「深切反省」，考量她是兩個孩子的母親、初犯，並已辭卸一切職務，且「未來將生活在龐大輿論壓力下並背負汙名」，故做此判決。

趙顯娥獲釋後步出法庭，面對媒體包圍不發一語，以雙手遮住低下的頭臉快步離去。此案引發在南韓引起眾怒。判決出爐後，一名大學生不滿的說，「如果她因為表現悔意就能獲釋，其他囚犯也該比照辦理，法院顯然對她另眼看待。」

原文參照：
http://www.nytimes.com/2015/05/23/world/asia/cho-hyun-ah-freed-on-reduced-sentence-in-korean-air-nut-rage-case.html

2015-05-23．聯合報．A13．國際．編譯陳韻涵