海角大神

The owner of Korea's flagship airline took the blame Friday for his daughter鈥檚 in-flight tantrum that forced the plane she was on back to its gate, striking a sensitive chord in a country where shame 鈥� and resentment of family-controlled wealth 鈥� runs deep.

鈥淧lease blame me. It鈥檚 my fault,鈥� Cho Yang-ho, the owner and chairman of Korean Air, said in front of cameras in Seoul, at one point bowing deeply. 鈥淚 failed to raise her properly,鈥� he added.

Mr. Cho's daughter, Cho Hyun-ah, delayed a flight on Dec. 5 when she raged at a senior flight attendant for serving her macadamia nuts in an unopened bag, not on a plate. She ordered the plane to return to its gate at Kennedy International Airport in New York City, after it had begun taxiing down a runway, so the flight attendant could be removed.

Hours after her father made his public apology on Friday, Ms. Cho appeared in front of cameras outside the Transport Ministry in Seoul. "I sincerely apologize,鈥� she told reporters, adding that she planned to say sorry personally to the affected crew members.

In addition to taking responsibility for the incident, Mr. Cho stripped his 40-year-old daughter of all her executive posts at his family-owned company. Ms. Cho had already resigned as the head of Korea Air鈥檚 in-flight services on Tuesday. On Friday, she lost her other executive jobs within her father鈥檚 Hanjin Group 鈥� the nation鈥檚 10th-largest conglomerate 鈥� which also owns hotel, shipping, and logistics businesses.

The so-called 鈥渘ut rage鈥� incident has made Ms. Cho the latest symbol of excess within South Korea鈥檚 conglomerates, known collectively as chaebol. As The New York Times reports, South Koreans have long accused the controlling families of running their companies like dynasties.

The Associated Press reports that South Korean media and the public have been harshly negative, calling Ms. Cho a spoiled princess.

"This is a reflection of materialism at its height in our country. Just because she is rich and in place of power, she shouldn't have undermined the crew like that," Suyeong Kang, a college student in Seoul, told the AP.

A business school professor in Seoul described the episode as a "dismal side effect of dynastic leadership succession," according to the BBC, while a left-wing campaign group said it illustrated a "feudal form of employer-employee relationship."

The Korea Herald reports that the Transport Ministry is investigating whether Cho violated any aviation laws. Her outburst delayed the flight by 50 minutes.

Meanwhile, South Korean media reported on Wednesday that macadamia sales have spiked at the country鈥檚 major online marketplaces, in some cases more than doubling from last week.