Why has Nanyang Business School not dismissed Heather Cho from its Advisory Board?

As everyone knows by now, Heather Cho's abominable behaviour while flying on Korean Air which is owned by her father and of which she is Executive Vice President has been reported in all the major newspapers:

BBC
Washington Post
Korea Times

But what is worrisome is the fact that Heather Cho sits in the advisory board of Nanyang Business School.

What advisory role can such a character play in Nanyang Business School? What can anyone learn from her? How to behave like a spoilt brat in your father's company and endanger the lives of other passengers?

As Forbes puts it, this is nothing short of a hereditary family rule. She's not what a good business school would want to include in its advisory board.

But is this an isolated incident that Nanyang Technological University (NTU) can dismiss? There is more to this Heather Cho character than one incident over the nuts.

First, the nuts incident tells us a lot about her entire character. It tells us that she is one who would use her position and power to tyrannise and subjugate her subordinates without any consideration for other people. However wrong the flight attendant might have been in serving nuts in a bag instead of in a bowl, demanding that the plane abort its flight while it's already taxiing down the runway shows her callous disregard for people around her.

Further there is evidence that the cabin crew chief who was kicked out of the plane by Heather Cho was asked to give a false statement. According to Korea Times, "The Seoul Western District Prosecutors' Office said it may seek an arrest warrant for Cho after questioning her because 'she could attempt to destroy evidence.' "

Korea Times goes on to explain that what Heather Cho did on the plane is an offence under aviation law and "a violator could face up to 10 years in jail".

There is also an allegation by some members of Korean Air Labour Union that Heather Cho's airlines compels the company employees to get medical examinations at her husband's clinic.

While some of these allegations have not yet been proved and the prosecution process may take some time, Heather Cho's behaviour on the flight is not in dispute since she herself has apologised for it. That alone is enough to sully the good name of any business school which is injudicious enough to retain her on their advisory board.

For the sake of Singapore education and the reputation of one of Singapore's tertiary institutions, I hope NTU is in the process of removing Heather Cho from the advisory board of their Business School. Singapore has done very well to stay away from nepotism of any kind and Heather Cho is the last person to be a role model for our business students.