The flight crew member whistle-blower who exposed the so-called Korean Air ‘nut rage’ incident is now suing the airline for ‘retaliation.’
Park Chang-jin, who was then chief flight attendant, told how then vice president and chairman’s daughter Cho Hyun-ah humiliated fight crew when they served her a packet of nuts.
Miss Cho then angrily forced the departing flight back to the gate at New York’s JFK Airport.
After taking a leave of absence due to stress, Park said he was demoted to flight attendant by the airline, claiming a direct retaliation against his whistle-blowing.
"My case illustrates how those who say no to economic power in South Korea come under a systematic attack from their organisation," Park said in a statement.
Ms. Cho forced him and the crew member who served the nuts on to their knees, ‘like slaves in a medieval era.’
The incident in 2014 caused outrage in South Korea and Cho was later sacked by her father and sent to prison for violating aviation safety laws.
Laws to protect whistle-blowers in South Korea are lax and they are routinely demoted or fired for an act of ‘betrayal’ said Lee Young-kee, of the Horuragi Foundation, which advocates for whistle-blower protections.
The lawsuit by Park is directed at the airline and Ms Choi.
Korean Air denied any wrongdoing.
"There has been no discrimination or unfairness against him. We dealt with his case strictly according to our regulations," it said in a statement.
