Cho Yang-ho
Cho Yang-ho | |
|---|---|
| Born | 8 March 1949 Seoul, South Korea |
| Died | 8 April 2019 (aged 70) Los Angeles County, California, United States |
| Occupation(s) | Entrepreneur, business executive |
| Years active | 1975–2019 |
| Known for | Chairman and CEO of Korean Air; chairman of Hanjin Group; founding SkyTeam alliance member; president and CEO of PyeongChang 2018 Organizing Committee |
Cho Yang-ho (Template:Korean; occasionally referred to as Y. H. Cho; 8 March 1949 – 8 April 2019) was a prominent South Korean entrepreneur who held the positions of chairman and chief executive officer at Korean Air, led the Hanjin Group as chairman, and played a key role in founding the SkyTeam alliance.
Career
Born in Seoul,[1] Cho earned a bachelor's degree in industrial engineering from Inha University in 1975. He further obtained an MBA from the University of Southern California in 1979, followed by a doctorate in business administration from Inha University in 1988. In 1998, Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University in Florida awarded him an honorary doctorate in aviation business administration.
As chairman of the Hanjin Group, a major transportation conglomerate, Cho assumed this role in February 2003 after serving as vice chairman since 1996. He also held executive roles including Director and CEO at several subsidiaries such as Hanjin Shipping, Korea Airport Service (KAS), JungSeok Enterprise Co., and Hanjin Information Systems & Telecommunications (HIST).
In 1996, Cho was appointed vice-chairman of The Federation of Korean Industries (FKI). From 1995 until his passing in 2019, he served as honorary consul-general of Ireland in South Korea. His leadership extended to chairing the Korea-French High Level Businessmen's Club starting October 2000 and membership on the Board of Governors for the International Air Transport Association (IATA) following his election in May 2001. Additionally, he chaired the Korea-Canada Business Council beginning in 1993 and led the Korea Defense Industry Association from 2004 to 2019. Cho was also a member of the Board of Trustees at the University of Southern California (USC) starting in 1997.[2] Moreover, he chaired the boards of both Inha University and Hankuk Aviation University.
In the year 2000, Cho was found guilty of tax evasion.[3][4]
Cho led the PyeongChang 2018 Bid Committee that successfully secured hosting rights for the Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games in 2018. Subsequently, he served as president and CEO of the PyeongChang Organizing Committee from 2014 until 2016.[5]
In May 2018, employees staged a demonstration demanding Cho's resignation from his position as chairman of Korean Air.[6] By March 2019, with backing from the NPS, shareholders removed him from the board amid multiple controversies involving him and his relatives.[7] This marked an unprecedented event where a founding family member of a major South Korean conglomerate was ousted from the board, viewed as a significant step toward limiting chaebol influence.[8]
Personal life and death
Cho was the son of Cho Choong-hoon, the founder of Hanjin Group and former chairman of Korean Air.
He was married and fathered three children: a son, Cho Won-tae, and two daughters, Cho Seung-yeon (also known as Heather Cho, previously Cho Hyeon-ah) and Cho Hyeon-min (also referred to as Emily Cho). Each of his children graduated from the University of Southern California. His lineage traces back to his 9th great-grandfather, Jo Tae-chae, who served as a Right State Councilor (Uuijeong, 우의정) during the reign of King Sukjong.
On April 8, 2019, Cho passed away at a medical facility in Los Angeles County, California, United States, at the age of 70. He had been hospitalized since December 2018 for treatment related to pulmonary fibrosis.
Awards
- April 2005: Awarded the Order of the Polar Star, Mongolia’s highest civilian honor bestowed upon foreign nationals
- October 2005: Received the Moran Medal within South Korea’s Order of Civil Merit
- January 2012: Honored with the Grand Order of Mugunghwa from South Korea
- November 2015: Bestowed the rank of Grand Officier in France’s Legion of Honour
References
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External links
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- Pages with script errors
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- 1949 births
- 2019 deaths
- South Korean chief executives
- Chief executives in the airline industry
- Korean Air
- Kyungbock High School alumni
- Marshall School of Business alumni
- Recipients of the Legion of Honour
- Recipients of the Order of Industrial Service Merit
- Moran Medals of the Order of Civil Merit (Korea)
- Mugunghwa Medals of the Order of Civil Merit (Korea)
- 20th-century South Korean businesspeople
- 21st-century South Korean businesspeople
- Presidents of the Organising Committees for the Olympic Games
- South Korean people convicted of tax crimes