Infighting has started as widely expected in the dysfunctional Korean Air owner family after the death of the chairman, who left each of his heirs an almost equal share of the sprawling Hanjin empire.
Cho Hyun-ah of "nut rage" notoriety, the late chairman's eldest daughter, in a statement Monday accused her brother, who now helms the business, of disobeying their father's wishes by running the airline without consulting with his siblings.
Cho Hyun-ah resigned as vice president of the airline after the 2014 scandal, when she ordered a Korean Air plane to return to the gate at John F. Kennedy Airport in New York in a tantrum over the way she was served macadamia nuts.
In the statement, she claimed her brother Cho Won-tae "continues to remain insincere and puts off consulting with his family," whereas their father "wanted the family to run the business together."
She added ominously that she intends to "listen to the opinions of shareholders" in seeking ways to take the conglomerate to the next level, a veiled threat to plot her brother's ouster.
Hanjin Group in a statement said, "We believe it was the wish of late chairman Cho Yang-ho for the group to regain the trust of the public and customers."
"We hope that this controversy does not damage the group's operation, reputation and value," it added.
Cho Won-tae holds a 6.52-percent stake in Hanjin KAL, the conglomerate's holding company, only a whisker ahead of Cho Hyun-ah's 6.49 percent.
Their younger sister, Hanjin KAL managing director Cho Hyun-min, owns 6.47 percent, and their mother Lee Myung-hee 5.31 percent.
All the women have been convicted or face criminal charges for anything from assault to running a smuggling racket, while Cho Won-tae was stripped of his university degree for cheating. Cho Yang-ho was ousted as Korean Air chairman in an unprecedented palace coup only days before he died.
