[Yonhap Photo]
SEOUL -- South Korean customs authorities failed to shackle Cho Hyun-ah, a former Korean Air vice president known for a "nut rage" incident in 2014, after state prosecutors refused to file for an arrest warrant on charges of evading taxes, citing insufficient evidence.
The 43-year-old eldest daughter of Hanjin Group chairman Cho Yang-ho has been questioned for bringing in personal goods worth 600 million won ($579,710), which have been purchased overseas since 2013, without paying taxes.
The prosecution in the western port city of Incheon rejected a request from customs officials to detain her, saying the case needs a supplementary investigation to identify crime facts more specifically. She is suspected of using Korean Air planes to bring in her purchases, including clothes.
In a separate case in May, Cho Hyun-ah was quizzed by immigration authorities over allegations that she and her mother have illegally hired Filipino housemaids at their homes. But the two avoided detention.
In December 2014, Cho Hyun-ah became enraged when a flight attendant served her some nuts in a bag, rather than on a plate, on board a flight that was forced back to the gate while taxiing to the runway. The incident fueled public anger as it followed a slew of incidents involving group owners and their offsprings.
She was given a twelve-month prison sentence on conviction of violating aviation safety laws, but an appeals court overturned the conviction and handed down a suspended jail term, allowing her to walk free in May 2015.
Hanjin has seen its image plunging due to a scandal involving the chairman's youngest daughter, Cho Hyun-min, who allegedly threw a glass cup and sprayed plum juice during a business meeting with advertising agency officials on March 16. She told investigators that she lost her temper because the advertising company did not properly answer her questions.
The scandal fueled widespread public anger, leading to multiple investigations into the chairman, his wife and children on charges of creating a slush fund, evading taxes, bringing in luxury foreign goods illegally, abusing and assaulting company employees and others
Despite strong public demands for punishment, no family members have been arrested yet as court judges were reluctant to issue arrest warrants, citing no possibility of running away or destroying evidence.
On July 6, the group chairman was released from temporary custody after a court refused to issue an arrest warrant. He is suspected of awarding improper contracts to companies controlled by his family, using company money to pay attorney fees for him and his family and using a borrowed name to run a pharmacy illegally.
