Cho Won-tae appointed as Hanjin Group chairman

Hanjin Group’s holding company Hanjin Kal said Wednesday its board of directors had decided to appoint Korean Air President Cho Won-tae as the group’s new chairman. 

The appointment of Cho is aimed at minimizing the leadership vacuum in the group and maintaining stable business operations, Hanjin Kal said in a statement, adding there will be no separate inauguration ceremony for Cho.

This comes about two weeks after Cho’s father, former Hanjin Group Chairman Cho Yang-ho, died in the US on April 8 from a lung-related illness. 

“Succeeding the former chairman’s values of business philosophy, I will further develop the group by focusing on communication and field-based business management,” Cho Won-tae said during the board meeting, according to the company. 

Cho began his career at Hanjin Group in 2003 and moved to Korean Air in 2004, where he worked at teams related to business planning, passenger transportation and cargo business. He was appointed Korean Air president in 2017. 

Cho will represent the group as its chief and chairperson at this year’s International Air Transport Association meeting, which takes place in Seoul from June 1 to 3. During last year’s meeting, Korean Air was named as the host of the conference for the world’s largest organization for air carriers. 

By Kim Da-sol (ddd@heraldcorp.com)