Seoul , South Korea ( CNN ) It started with a first-class aviation executive throwing a fit on a flight over her nuts . It ended Thursday with that former executive sentenced to jail for one year . Heather Cho was working for Korean Air on December 5 when , as a first-class passenger on an international flight , an attendant served her macadamia nuts in a bag . Cho wanted them on a plate and demanded that the plane go back to the gate at New York 's JFK airport so a crew member could be kicked off the flight . A South Korean judge said that her actions threatened the development of the aviation industry and inconvenienced passengers , and ruled that she violated aviation law , changed a flight path and interfered with operations . Cho had the chief steward removed from the flight after the plane had left the gate . The flight arrived 11 minutes behind schedule . A year in jail may seem just as extreme as freaking out over nuts . But the flight attendant testified that she was pressured by another Korean Air manager to keep quiet about Cho 's behavior . Prosecutors said during her trial that there was a systematic attempt to cover up the incident . The judge blasted Cho for her conduct , saying that she had used the plane as if it were her personal car and that as a passenger , she could not override crew members and give orders during a flight . The case , dubbed `` nut rage , '' gripped South Korea , especially because Cho is the Korean Air chairman 's daughter . There is growing resentment over the perceived privileges and nepotism for the families that control the country 's top companies . Cho resigned as vice president at the company a few days after the incident and publicly apologized , saying she accepted `` full responsibility . '' On Thursday , she appeared in court wearing a green prison uniform . She gazed downward . Her hair hung in her face . `` I do n't know how to find forgiveness , '' she said . Park Chang-jin , the chief steward who was booted from the flight , has said the former executive treated crew members like `` feudal slaves . '' Details of Cho 's behavior on the flight have emerged . Park and Kim Do Hee , the flight attendant who served the nuts , had knelt in front of Cho in apology . Kim testified that Cho berated them about the service , and later shoved and cursed her . When the flight arrived in Korea , the flight attendant said another airline manager , Yeo Woon-jin , pressured her not to talk to investigators about Cho 's physically abusing her and Park . Yeo was found guilty of interfering with an investigation . Following public fury over the December incident , Korean Air chairman Cho Yang-ho apologized to the flight attendants and the public . Asked in court in January if he knew that his daughter mistreated employees , he said , `` I just heard that she 's strict with her workers . '' CNN 's KJ Kwon contributed to this report .
A former Korean Air hostess is found guilty of violating aviation regulations after interrupting a meeting over nuts . She has been sentenced to one year in prison for all charges .