It looked as if things could not get worse for the South Korean airline executive mocked around the world this week for throwing a tantrum over a bag of nuts.
Then her father, the chairman of the airline, stripped his 40-year-old daughter, Cho Hyun-ah, of the titles she still had in the family-run conglomerate. He apologized on live television Friday for her “foolish” behavior, when she forced her plane back to the gate and then kicked off the head steward after being served macadamia nuts in their bag, rather than on a plate.
“I failed to raise her properly,” said the chairman, Cho Yang-ho, who bowed deeply and asked to take the blame, showing contrition in the traditional South Korean way when one’s child misbehaves.
As if that was not enough, the head steward on the flight spoke up after days of silence, telling Korea’s KBS-TV on Friday that Cho’s daughter had forced him to kneel down and apologize on the plane as punishment for the way one of his stewards served the nuts to passengers in first class. The head steward was kicked off the aircraft when it returned to the gate.