Attendant sues over nut rage

SEOUL: A flight attendant who was living her dream by working for Korean Air Lines is now suing the airline and its infamous nut rage executive, claiming the bizarre onboard tantrum ruined her career.

Kim Do-hee, the flight attendant, is seeking compensation through a trial in New York City after she was verbally and physically attacked by Korean Air heiress Cho Hyun-ah, according to a statement yesterday by two American law firms, the Weinstein Law Firm and Kobre & Kim.

Cho, a vice-president overseeing cabin service at the time of the December 5 incident, was enraged that Kim, 27, served her macadamia nuts in a bag, not in a dish.

After a heated

confrontation with crew in the first class cabin, Cho ordered head flight attendant Park Chang-jin off the plane, forcing it to return to a gate at John F Kennedy International Airport.

It is the first civil lawsuit connected with the nut rage case, which infuriated South Koreans and hogged global headlines.

Last month a South Korean court sentenced Cho, 40, to one year in prison for violating aviation security laws, using violence against a flight attendant and other charges. Cho, who is the daughter of Korean Air’s chairman, has appealed against the ruling.

The summons filed on Monday with the Supreme Court of the State of New York, County of Queens, said Cho screamed obscenities at Kim and hit and threatened her.

She was also pressured to lie to government investigators to cover up the incident and to appear in public with Cho “as part of an orchestrated effort to try to rehabilitate Cho’s public image”, the summons said.

Kim is seeking compensatory damages and punitive damages in an amount to be determined at the trial.

Kim was unable to resolve the dispute privately, and Korean Air and Cho did not engage in “any substantive” settlement discussions with Kim’s lawyers, the statement said. Cho would be held responsible for the damage that she had caused to Kim’s career, reputation and emotional well-being, it said. – Sapa-AP