Seoul - The former Korean Air executive jailed for disrupting a flight in a rage over macadamia nuts walked free Friday when a South Korean appeals court overturned her conviction for violating aviation safety laws.
The High Court in Seoul ruled that Cho Hyun-Ah, who had been in jail since her arrest in December, was not guilty of the most serious charge of altering an aircraft's route while in flight.
That overturned the verdict of a lower district court, which had jailed Cho for one year in February.
"The accused had no intention of hampering the safe operation of the plane," High Court judge Kim Sang-Hwan said, handing down a reduced sentence of 10 months, suspended for two years.
After the hearing, Cho, 40, changed out of her prison clothes and left the court, dressed in black coat and wearing heavy dark-rimmed glasses.
Mobbed by reporters outside, Cho, walking with her head bowed, was shielded by a small group of minders who whisked her away to a waiting black sedan.
AFP
