South Korean prosecutors to detain ‘nut rage’ official

Cho Hyun-ah, who was head of cabin service at Korean Air and the oldest child of Korean Air chairman Cho Yang-ho, speaks to the media upon her arrival for questioning at the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport in Seoul, South Korea, in this Dec. 12, 2014, file photo. AP

SEOUL, South Korea—South Korean prosecutors are seeking to detain the former executive at Korean Air Lines Co. who forced a flight to return over a bag of macadamia nuts and a current executive for attempts to cover up the “nut rage” case.

Seoul Western Prosecutors’ Office said Wednesday that Cho Hyun-ah faces charges including inflight violence and changing a flight route.

The daughter of Korean Air’s chairman earlier this month resigned as vice president at the airline as public outrage mounted after she forced a plane to return and kicked off a flight attendant because the nuts were served in a bag, not on a plate.

The Transport Ministry said it had asked prosecutors to investigate a ministry official suspected of leaking secrets about the ministry’s investigation to the current airline executive.

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