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| Hanjin Group and Korean Air Chairman Cho Yang-ho died from a chronic lung disease, Monday, according to Korean Air. / Courtesy of Korean Air |
By Kim Hyun-bin
Hanjin Group Chairman Cho Yang-ho died from a chronic lung disease, according to Korean Air, a Hanjin affiliate, Monday. He was 70.
His death came 13 days after he lost his board seat at Korean Air when shareholders voted down his reappointment amid a slew of scandals haunting him and his family members.
Korean Air did not specify the exact cause of death, saying just that Cho had been receiving treatment at a hospital in Los Angeles since December. It is said his condition worsened rapidly with the extreme stress from a prosecution investigations into the scandals and his ouster from the board.
Cho's wife and younger daughter were with him in Los Angeles ― his son and Korean Air President Cho Won-tae and elder daughter hurriedly traveled there over the weekend after his condition deteriorated, according to the carrier.
Cho's body will be returned to Korea for a funeral and interment, the schedule of which will be announced later, the carrier said.
Born in 1949 in Incheon, west of Seoul, Cho entered Korean Air, then-run by his father and company founder Cho Choong-hoon, in 1974. He quickly climbed the corporate ladder to become president in 1992 and chairman of Hanjin Group in 2003.
Many experts believe Cho brought Korea's aviation industry to new heights, improving the nation's first full service carrier to be able to compete with the best from around the world, receiving scores of prestigious global awards in the process.
Cho was also in the forefront of establishing SkyTeam in 2000 which consisted of just four carriers ― Korean Air, Delta Air Lines, Air France and Aero Mexico ― at the time, but now has expanded to 19 airlines from five continents.
Under Cho's supervision, Korean Air won the bid to host the 75th International Air Transport Association Annual General Meeting and World Air Transport Summit in Seoul for the first time, which will be held for three days starting June 1.
Despite these achievements, the last days of his career was marred by many scandals, which stripped him of the Korean Air chairmanship.
In a March meeting, shareholders voted 64.1 percent in favor of his reappointment but fell short of the necessary two-thirds threshold by 2.5 percent as 35.9 percent voted against him.
It marked the first time that shareholders have voted to strip a founding family member of a Korean conglomerate of a board seat.
As he died, all of the criminal allegations against him will be dropped, as a case is closed in the event of the suspect's death.
Cho had been on trial for charges of embezzling over 27 billion won ($23.7 million) and breach of trust, being accused of taking excessive commissions from Korean Air suppliers.
"We have received news of Chairman Cho's death. The judge will soon announce the dismissal of the case," the Seoul Southern District Court said.
The trials of Cho's family members are also likely to be postponed.
Cho's wife Lee Myung-hee and their elder daughter, Hyun-ah, are on trial for illegally bringing in 11 Filipina housekeepers from 2013 to early last year under carrier-sponsored traineeship visas.
The Hanjin owner family has been under intense public criticism for their misbehavior in recent years.
In 2014, Hyun-ah made international headlines after ordering a Korean Air plane back to its gate at a New York airport after losing her temper over how macadamia nuts were served to her in a first class cabin.
Cho's younger daughter, Hyun-min, allegedly threw a glass filled with water at an advertising firm employee during a business meeting. Both resigned from their executive posts after the scandals became public.
