Hanjin chairman honored for bold leadership amid pandemic crisis

Hanjin Group Chairman Cho Won-tae / Yonhap

By Lee Min-hyung

Hanjin Group Chairman Cho Won-tae has been selected as the 2021 Person of the Year by Orient Aviation, a commercial aviation news publisher, in recognition of his bold leadership to tackle the pandemic-induced crisis in the airline industry.

The Hong Kong-based media outlet spoke highly of Cho's crisis management after the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic early last year since major airlines have had to contend with a steep fall in sales amid lockdowns around the world.

Korean Air, a key subsidiary of the group, has reported surpluses for six consecutive quarters until the end of September this year, after making preemptive investments in cargo operations to offset declining earnings from passenger traffic.

Cho thanked employees and executives for making concerted efforts to deal with the pandemic crisis.

“It would have been impossible for me to be selected as the person of the year if our staff had not joined hands by making sacrifice and efforts with one another,” Cho said. “I want to express my gratitude to our employees for making smart decisions, so as for us to adapt to the unprecedented market uncertainty.”

Korean Air reported an operating profit of 438.6 billion won in the third quarter, up 5,671 percent from the previous year. This was an outstanding feat at a time when major airlines here and abroad reported disappointing earnings amid lingering uncertainties due to the pandemic.