A Korean court found Heather Cho, the daughter of Korean Air Chairman Co Yang-ho, guilty of violating air safety regulations and sentenced her to one year prison term over the on-flight "nut rage" that went viral late last year.

Cho was vice president of the air carrier for in-flight service when she went on an air rage on December 5 while on a return flight to Seoul from New York when she was served macadamia nuts in a plastic bag instead of on a bowl.

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In her anger, she ordered the chief purser to leave the plane even if it was taxiing on the runway, causing the delay in the departure and arrival of the aircraft. The incident, which the air carrier tried to protect Cho by pressuring cabin crew not to tell the court about her angry gestures such as throwing a tablet at the flight attendant, led to her resignation from the company.

Judge Oh Sung-woo, in sentencing the former VP, said on Thursday, "This is a case where human dignity was trampled upon," quotes Daily Times.

Suh Chang-hee, the lawyer of Cho, said he would discuss with his client if they would appeal the court's decision.

While Cho was not found guilty of the second charge of using her position to obstruct due process, another Korean Air executive was convicted of interfering in the government probe of the incident and sentenced him to eight months in prison.

The incident, which landed in headlines and added macadamia nuts to the list of causes of air rage, led to a debate in South Korea over the country's chaebol system in which the country's economy is controlled by few rich families, including the Chos who own Korean Air.

BBC reports that this system gave Cho a sense of entitlement that led to her anger. Employees of the company have told the court that the former VP treated them like slaves.

TagsKorean Air, Heather Cho, nut rage, macadamia nuts, prison term