こんな時はTOEICの出番

大韓航空のナッツ問題はAirline Exec Literally Goes Nuts Over Nutsと英語ではうまいことからかわれてしまっていますが、謝罪の場面はTOEICをやっていればこわくないですね。

（ロングマン）
go nuts spoken
a) to become very excited because something good has just happened:
The crowd went nuts after the third touchdown.
b) to become very angry about something:
Mom's going to go nuts if you don't clean this mess up.



Korean Air Exec Apologizes After Macadamia Nut Incident Sparks National Outrage
Reuters
JU-MIN PARK, REUTERS
DEC. 12, 2014, 9:58 AM

apologize for （物事）とapologize to （人）の両方の形が使われていました。TOEICをやっていれば、基本的なシチュエーションの基本的な言い回しを学ぶことができます。英語教育のあるべき姿を追求するのはいいですが、実践に使えるかどうかという問題意識も教育現場の人にはもっていただきたいと思います。

"I sincerely apologize for causing trouble for everyone. I'm sorry,"

"I apologize to the people of this country as chairman of Korean Air and as a father for the trouble caused by my daughter's foolish conduct," said Cho, who bowed deeply in front of media crowded in the lobby of the airline's headquarters.

記事で"I will apologize sincerely... in person,"とあったように、個人的に従業員に謝りにいっているようです。offer a personal apologyという表現も学べます。

Ex-Korean Air VP apologizes to crew members over 'nut rage'
2014/12/14 16:32

SEOUL, Dec. 14 (Yonhap) -- Former Korean Air Lines Co. Vice President Cho Hyun-ah apologized to a cabin crew chief Sunday for deplaning him for his alleged breach of snack-serving protocol, the company said.

Cho visited the home of the chief flight attendant to offer a personal apology, but failed to meet him since he was not home, leaving a short apology note, Korean Air said.

The eldest daughter of the Korean Air chairman also visited the residence of a female flight attendant who had served nuts to her, but she was away from home, so the former vice president left behind a similar letter, the company added.

アメリカのニュースでもchaebolという韓国財閥に引きつけて韓国社会の問題を捉えようとしています。

ByAIMEE PICCHIMONEYWATCHDecember 12, 2014, 11:46 AM
Korean Air chairman apologizes for "nut rage" daughter

So what is a chaebol? Imagine a sprawling conglomerate like General Electric, but run by and controlled by one family. In South Korea, chaebols are the very lifeblood of the country, with the five largest bringing in two-thirds of South Korea's gross domestic product.

Many of their names are familiar to Americans: Samsung, LG, Hyundai. But the inner workings of the chaebols are likely unfamiliar to many outside South Korea. Executives often hold less power than family members who are appointed to roles within the firms, and several family members have been involved in nepotism-tinged scandals.

The power of the chaebols and the strong culture of nepotism have South Koreans worried, according to a May poll from the Segye Times and the Asan Institute for Policy Studies. Nine out of 10 Koreans in their 20s said that nepotism will ruin the country, the poll found.
While Korean Air chairman Cho Yang-ho apologized for his daughter's behavior, it's unclear whether the nut-rage scandal will lead to any greater soul-searching among the country's chaebol families. (It's also Korean tradition that parents take the blame for their kids' mistakes, the Korean Times notes.)

The media dubbed her a spoiled “princess” who had brought international shame on the country.とtelegraphは彼女の騒動を紹介していますが、財閥と甘やかされたバカ息子ならぬバカ娘というステレオタイプに当てはめて理解していいのか、という以下のコラムは考えさせられます。今回の件の真相はわかりませんが、フライトアテンダントがどうしようもなかった、そして上司の対応も悪かった可能性だってあり得たかもしれないのですから。

What if Cho Hyun-ah were a man?
By Jason Lim

Which makes me automatically suspicious. To note, I am not necessarily suspicious of what actually went down on that flight. I am suspicious and wary of how we are interpreting what actually happened into an almost cathartic narrative of good vs. evil based on our stereotypes of who Cho represents, not who Cho really is as an individual. In a way, this incident has become a symbolic, moral fable that explains everything that’s wrong in Korean society, with Cho as the evil step mother. In the Korean Air incident, the stereotype that Cho represents is that of a super-elite with inherited wealth and power with an ingrained sense of over-blown entitlement.

And we know that stereotypes matter. These mostly unconscious socio-cultural beliefs and expectations over specific groups of people drive our reactions and behaviors, with serious and even lethal consequences. We have just seen how racist stereotypes led to the deaths of two black men and one black child recently in the U.S. precisely because they shape how the police behave when faced with a black male.

このコラムでは女性だから、生意気だと捉えられているのではとしています。

So, what if Cho were a man? Could a popular interpretation of the events be a bit more nuanced then? Could Cho’s actions be that of a passionate, decisive executive who saw a problem and made a front-line decision ― knowing full well of the consequences of such a decision ― because he was a perfectionist and truly cared about providing the highest quality passenger care to his customers, firmly believing that “everything was in the details,” even as trivial as macadamia nuts? Admittedly, his actions were over-the-top, but his intentions were good and instincts unerringly accurate. After all, this is the type of leadership that’s needed for Korean Air to catch up to Asiana in overall airline ranking in this highly competitive industry.

Contrast this to the popular narrative of an over-privileged woman with an inflated sense of importance losing her temper over some triviality and lashing out irrationally at everyone, not to mention turning spiteful and vindictive when people start calling her out.

Perhaps this is exactly what happened. Perhaps Cho is exactly how the current narrative describes her. After all, it’s difficult to defend what she did on that flight even if half of what’s reported is true. However, it’s also difficult not to notice strands of gender stereotyping in the popular narrative; that of a bitchy, irrational, manipulating, and overly-ambitious woman trying to climb the corporate ladder beyond her capability.

このコラムでも彼女に非があった可能性が高いと認めていますが、ステレオタイプを安易に当てはめ真っ当な努力が評価されない悔しさはTOEIC学習者なら日頃感じていることです。今回の事件も、「ほらね」と安易な嫌韓ブームに加担しないようにしたいです。