Korean Air heiress treated flight crew like 'slaves', court hears

A Korean Air chief purser forced off a plane by airline heiress Cho Hyun-Ah in a notorious "nut rage" incident has testified that Cho treated flight crew like "feudal slaves".

Prosecutors have demanded a three-year jail term for Cho, saying she showed no sign of "earnest remorse" and has tried to lay the blame for the incident on flight crew.

In December she forced the chief purser to leave a New York-Seoul flight before it took off, compelling the taxiing plane to return to the gate so he could disembark.

The 40-year-old, who was a KAL vice president at the time, took exception to being served macadamia nuts for which she had not asked - and in a bag, not a bowl. The incident sparked public outrage in South Korea.

Cho has been charged with air safety violations as well as coercing staff to give false testimony and interfering in the execution of their duty.

In court on Monday, chief purser Park Chang-Jin accused Cho of treating flight attendants like "feudal slaves" and urged her to reflect sincerely on her "irrational and senseless" conduct.

"I think Cho did not show an ounce of conscience, treating powerless people like myself as feudal slaves and forcing us to sacrifice unilaterally," he said in a tearful voice.

"Like a beast that found its prey gritting its teeth, she yelled and became violent, never listening to what I said," he said.

Park has said Cho made him kneel and beg for forgiveness while jabbing him with a service manual.

On Monday Cho apologised for her "rash" conduct but insisted the affair originated from the breach of the service manual by flight attendants.

She denied using violence against Park and said the pilot made a final decision to force him off the plane.

Her lawyers have argued that there had been no breach of safety laws, given that the plane had not even reached the runway when it turned back.

Cho, the eldest daughter of Korean Air chief Cho Yang-Ho, has been in custody since December 30.