South Korea’s top transportation official said on Monday that government investigations into the Korean Air “nut rage” scandal had been unfair, as a large portion of the ministry’s probe team consisted of former employees of the carrier.

Transport Minister Suh Seoung-hwan’s comment came after the ministry launched an internal audit last Thursday into allegations that former Korean Air officials investigating the incident tried to acquit ex-Korean Air vice president Cho Hyun-ah, accused of violating aviation laws in the nut incident.

Of the six chief investigators in the probe initiated by the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport, two were former Korean Air officials.

“I acknowledge that (government) officials could have colluded with senior officials at the airline,” Suh said, expressing regret.

“I will make sure that strict penalties are levied if our audits find that such collusion indeed did take place.”

But Suh said that many of the jobs at the ministry required experienced workers and that most of them inevitably came from Korean Air, the country’s biggest carrier.

The government began investigations after Cho apparently ordered a purser to deplane Korean Air Flight 086 on Dec. 5, even as it was already taxiing at John F. Kennedy Airport in New York. Cho, a first class passenger, had been enraged when she was served nuts in a bag, instead of on a plate as the carrier’s service manual says.

She is also accused of tampering with evidence after allegations surfaced that she and other senior Korean Air officials had tried to pressure the deplaned purser to provide government investigators with favorable answers during the ensuing investigations.

Cho is the eldest daughter of the family-run company’s chairman Cho Yang-ho.

The incident sparked a massive public backlash against Korean Air. The government has threatened fines of up to 2.16 billion won ($1.97 million). Prosecutors are conducting separate investigations.

The Transport Ministry will finalize its decisions once “facts are confirmed by prosecutors,” Suh said, as to whether and how Cho had violated aviation laws.

Lawmakers showed a rare moment of bipartisan unison at the National Assembly hearing on Monday, when legislators from the country’s main two parties demanded Suh to ensure there were no cozy relations between Transport ministry officials and Korean Air.

“Cho seems to show no remorse for the incident,” Governing Saenuri Party Rep. Lee Hag-jae said. “She seems to think the plane was her private jet.”

“Korean Air Lines Co. appears to have a ‘military-like’ corporate culture,” main opposition New Politics Alliance for Democracy Rep. Lee Mi-kyung said. “The Transport Ministry must look into this.”

Legislators also demanded Suh to release recorded videos from Korean Air Flight 086, as the tapes could show exactly how far the plane had taxied away from the airport gate.

Transport ministry officials refused, saying they had already forwarded the tapes to prosecutors conducting separate investigations.

By Jeong Hunny (hj257@heraldcorp.com)