Official arrested over nut rage incident

Seoul - South Korean prosecutors have arrested a government official who allegedly leaked information about an investigation into former Korean Air Lines executive Cho Hyun-ah, who forced a flight to return over a bag of macadamia nuts.

Prosecutors say the transport ministry official was sent to a Seoul detention facility on Friday after a court issued a warrant for his arrest.

The official was suspected of providing the information to a current airline executive who allegedly tried to cover up the incident.

Cho resigned as vice president at the airline earlier this month amid public criticism that she forced a 5 December plane bound for South Korea from the US to return to a gate and kicked off a flight attendant because the nuts were served in a bag, not on a plate.