Cho Won-tae named new chairman of Hanjin Group

By Kim Hyun-bin

Cho Won-tae, the current president of Korean Air has been appointed to head Hanjin Group, succeeding his father, the late Chairman Cho Yang-ho, who passed away from a chronic lung disease last week.

Cho Won-tae

Hanjin Group held a board of directors meeting Wednesday and appointed Cho as the next chairman of the group.

“The decision to appoint Cho comes to minimize the leadership vacuum after the death of former Chairman Cho Yang-ho,” the board said. “We have high hopes that the new Chairman Cho will succeed in the founding spirit of Hanjin and enhance the group and its vision.”

“I will adopt the previous chairmen's management philosophy and further advance Hanjin Group,” Cho said.

In October 2004, Cho started work at the country's flagship carrier Korean Air taking over key positions in numerous departments including passenger trade headquarters, management planning and business strategy.

He was appointed as president of Korean Air in 2017 and took credit for launching a joint venture between the Korean airline and Delta.

Cho is also expected to be appointed as chairman of the International Air Transport Association (IATA), during its annual meeting that is scheduled to be held in Seoul for three days starting June 1.