Business as Usual at Hanjin as Owner's Son Takes Over
25 April, 2019
The Hanjin Group has appointed Cho Won-tae as its new chairman after his father Cho Yang-ho died suddenly earlier this month.
The appointment of scandal-tainted Cho junior (44) to the post signals a return to business as usual that has worried some shareholders, who ousted his father from the board of flagship subsidiary Korean Air just before his death.
But the Hanjin Group is controlled by holding company Hanjin KAL, which ensures the Cho family's effective ownership.
There will be no inauguration ceremony. Hanjin KAL's board in a statement said, "The decision was made to continue stable management of the group and minimize the leadership vacuum" after Cho senior's death.
Cho junior started working for Hanjin in 2003 as head of marketing at its IT subsidiary. In 2017 he became president of Korean Air.
His bachelor's degree from Inha University was revoked over a cheating scandal last year, making him a rare instance of a top conglomerate leader with only a high-school diploma to his name.
Most of his family have fallen foul of the law in recent years, facing allegations from brutalizing staff to running a smuggling racket.
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