I’ve written extensively about the Korean Air nut rage incident, which happened last December on a Korean Air A380 flight from New York JFK to Seoul Incheon. During this incident, a Korean Air executive demanded the plane be turned around because she wasn’t pleased with the way she was served macadamia nuts.
For those of you not familiar with the saga, see my previous posts on the subject:
- Korean Air Flight Delayed Over Nuts
- Korean Air Executive Resigns Over Nuts
- Why Is Korean Air’s #NutGate Causing So Much Controversy?
- Korean Air Purser Speaks Out About Nut Outrage
- Korean Air Could Be Fined $2 Million Over Nut Lady
- Sales Of Macadamia Nuts In Korea Have Increased How Much?!
- Arrest Warrant Being Sought For Nutty Korean Air Executive
- Korean Air Executive Detained Over “Nut Rage” Incident
- Nutty Korean Air Executive Indicted, Could Face Up To 15 Years In Jail
- Korean Air Nut Lady Sentenced To One Year In Jail
Our last update came roughly a month ago, whereby Heather Cho was sentenced to one year in prison. I assumed at that point the story was over and we could move on. But it’s not. And we can’t.
That’s because Kim Do-hee, the flight attendant serving Heather Cho, is now seeking compensation for “damage to her career, reputation and emotional wellbeing.”
Via BBC:
Ms Kim’s civil lawsuit, filed in New York City, is seeking compensation for damage to her career, reputation and emotional wellbeing.
It alleges that Cho screamed obscenities and hit Ms Kim after being served the nuts in their bag not a bowl.
Ms Kim’s lawyers said that “the evidence in this case will demonstrate that Cho’s actions were not only humiliating, degrading, and damaging to Kim, but were also emblematic of Cho’s unbridled arrogance and disturbing sense of entitlement”.
The summons also stated she was 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 and rehabilitate Cho’s public image”, reported AP.
There are a few things that are especially interesting here:
- This lawsuit is being filed in the US and not South Korea. While the “incident” happened in the US, it was on a Korean plane, and it was ultimately Korean aviation law which got Heather Cho her jail time.
- The most “damaged” flight attendant isn’t the one suing. You’d think the purser would have been most humiliated, having been physically assaulted by her and removed from the flight. But instead it’s the flight attendant that didn’t initially serve her nuts correctly that’s suing.
- I wonder whether the flight attendant suing is still working for Korean Air. I’d imagine not, but I guess I could be wrong.
Bottom line
We’re used to seeing these kinds of lawsuits in the US, though as far as I know they’re a bit rarer in Korea. So I think it’s no coincidence that this suit was filed in the US and not Korea.
What do you think — is the flight attendant simply trying to take advantage of the US legal system, does she have a legitimate case for wanting compensation, or both?
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