♪♪"We three kings of orient are"♪♪ .... well not a king but a queen for sure, Heather Cho (Cho Hyun-Ah). Surely in the running for self important personage of the year, and when you consider the opposition (e.g. Andrew Mitchell), that's surely some accolade.
She raised herself above the international parapets and waived the 'look at me flag, look at me flag' when she delayed an international plane flight over the way she was served nuts ... in a bag and not on a plate as prescribed by her airline.
In order to achieve this, she used her authority as a Korean Air executive and a vice president, to order the captain of the plane to turn back from taxiing to the runway on the Incheon-bound flight, and to return to the terminal in New York, in order to facilitate the removal of the chief steward from the plane, after a trainee steward handed her the nuts in an inappropriate manner.
At first when the story broke, in true oriental face saving style, the airline backed her actions by issuing a statement stating that 'checking service standards' was part of her job, and she had the pilot's backing for the action ... however it was later alleged that she had in fact been a simple passenger at the time.
Of course, given that she is daughter of company boss Cho Yang-ho, and a vice president of service standards, then she would never simply be a 'passenger', and no doubt all the staff, from pilot to stewards would have been aware of this ..... the plane eventually arrived 11 minutes late (which is better than my train ever manages).
But when the story broke internationally (to much laughter and ridicule), eventually, after the South Korean travel minister said that she had shamed the airline, and the nation, she was forced to resign. Now prosecutors in South Korea are seeking her arrest, after it was alleged to have jabbed a flight steward with a document folder .... they are also attempting to charge another Korean Air executive with allegedly attempting to cover up the incident during a subsequent investigation. Its actually all gone a little bit OTT as she has since issued not one, but two tearful public apologies, and since resigned from all her posts, but .....
..... it was undoubtedly 'Diva of the Year' moment for 2015.
She raised herself above the international parapets and waived the 'look at me flag, look at me flag' when she delayed an international plane flight over the way she was served nuts ... in a bag and not on a plate as prescribed by her airline.
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| 'A Right Diva' ~ The Traditional Depiction |
In order to achieve this, she used her authority as a Korean Air executive and a vice president, to order the captain of the plane to turn back from taxiing to the runway on the Incheon-bound flight, and to return to the terminal in New York, in order to facilitate the removal of the chief steward from the plane, after a trainee steward handed her the nuts in an inappropriate manner.
At first when the story broke, in true oriental face saving style, the airline backed her actions by issuing a statement stating that 'checking service standards' was part of her job, and she had the pilot's backing for the action ... however it was later alleged that she had in fact been a simple passenger at the time.
Of course, given that she is daughter of company boss Cho Yang-ho, and a vice president of service standards, then she would never simply be a 'passenger', and no doubt all the staff, from pilot to stewards would have been aware of this ..... the plane eventually arrived 11 minutes late (which is better than my train ever manages).
But when the story broke internationally (to much laughter and ridicule), eventually, after the South Korean travel minister said that she had shamed the airline, and the nation, she was forced to resign. Now prosecutors in South Korea are seeking her arrest, after it was alleged to have jabbed a flight steward with a document folder .... they are also attempting to charge another Korean Air executive with allegedly attempting to cover up the incident during a subsequent investigation. Its actually all gone a little bit OTT as she has since issued not one, but two tearful public apologies, and since resigned from all her posts, but .....
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| Guess Who Wont Be Going To The Next Staff Party? |
..... it was undoubtedly 'Diva of the Year' moment for 2015.
That Joan Collins ad is one of my favourites, along with some seeing-glasses ones where a sheepdog gets shaun and a hat is mistaken for a dead cat.
ReplyDeleteYou must have been to Spec Savers ....
DeleteFunny to note that the North Koreans are not so open to critical attention.
ReplyDeleteErr, Yes ... perhaps a good illustration of how the two Korea's have gone down very different routes.
DeleteI might be going nuts here, but what has north korea got to do with this story? She is from south korea.
DeleteActually I am not sure myself .... sometimes get comments that are for other posts on the wrong one. Unless its really obvious I tend to go along with it. Thanks
DeleteThe fall out for Ms Cho has been dramatic ....
ReplyDeleteFirst she was jailed
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-31433736
Now she is being sued by the attendant who (mis)served the nuts.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-31828224
Its amazing how such a small incident, managed to blow up into an international story and bring down the scion of a leading chaebol in South Korea.
It does seem like a veritable witch-hunt going on .... its amazing how as you say, these storms can blow up into hurricanes so quickly. Of course in another few months if the story lies down we will all forget about it and her.
Delete