Walter Cho

For the Hong Kong actor, see Walter Tso.

Walter Cho
Cho Won-tae
File:Walter Cho photo.jpg
Born	(1976-01-25) 25 January 1976 Seoul, South Korea
Education	University of Southern California
Employer	Hanjin Group
Parent(s)	Cho Yang-ho and Lee Myung-hee
Template:Infobox Korean name/auto
Signature
File:Walter Cho signature.png

Cho Won-tae (born 25 January 1976), who is also referred to as Walter Cho, is a prominent South Korean business leader. He currently holds the positions of chairman and CEO at both Hanjin Group and Korean Air. Additionally, he serves on the board of governors for the International Air Transport Association (IATA) and chairs the board of the SkyTeam Alliance.

Early life

Born in Seoul on 25 January 1976, Cho is the son of the late Hanjin Group chairman Cho Yang-ho and the grandson of the group's founder, Cho Choong-hoon. He has two sisters: Heather Cho and Emily Cho. His initial schooling took place at Marian High School in Massachusetts. After completing two years at a U.S. college, he transferred to Inha University in South Korea in 1998. Subsequently, he earned an MBA degree from the University of Southern California in Los Angeles. For his mandatory military duty in South Korea, Cho fulfilled alternative service requirements through the Skilled Industrial Personnel program.

Early career

In 2003, Cho began his professional journey with Hanjin Group, the parent organization of Korean Air. He initially served as vice-president at Hanjin Information Systems & Telecommunication. The following year, in 2004, he transitioned to Korean Air, taking on the role of vice-manager within the planning team of the operations and strategy division. By January 2006, he had advanced to lead the procurement department, and later that same year in December, he was elevated to assistant director. His career progression continued with another promotion in December 2007. Eventually, Cho assumed the position of chief operating officer at Korean Air.

Following his sister Heather's resignation amid the nut rage incident in 2015, Cho expanded his managerial responsibilities to include other segments of Korean Air’s operations previously overseen by her, such as hotel and catering services. This shift was widely interpreted as a clear indication that he was being groomed to take over leadership of the company. In January 2017, he was officially appointed president of Korean Air. Concurrently, Cho held several executive roles across Hanjin Group subsidiaries—including Hanjin Kal, Jin Air, Uniconverse, and Korea Airport Service, which specializes in aircraft ground handling—but he stepped down from these positions in 2017 to enhance management effectiveness within Korean Air.

As CEO

Following the passing of his father, he assumed the roles of chairman and CEO of Hanjin and Korean Air in April 2019. In June of the same year, during the International Air Transport Association (IATA) General Assembly held in Seoul, Cho was appointed to the IATA Board of Governors. Additionally, that month saw his election as chairman of the SkyTeam Alliance board.

On 17 December 2020, Cho was honored with the French "médaille d'honneur des affaires étrangères" in recognition of his significant role in facilitating the repatriation of French nationals from South Korea to France amid the COVID-19 pandemic through Korean Air's efforts.

Cho earned widespread acclaim for his adept management during the COVID-19 crisis. As passenger flights came to a near standstill due to pandemic restrictions, he strategically shifted Korean Air’s focus toward cargo operations, utilizing cargo-only flights along former passenger routes and converting certain passenger aircraft into freighters. This adaptive approach enabled the airline to maintain operating profits throughout the pandemic and achieve record-breaking operating and net profits in 2021. Korean Air received numerous accolades during this period, including being named Airline of the Year in 2021 and Cargo Operator of the Year in 2022 by Air Transport World. Furthermore, AirlineRatings.com recognized it as the 2022 Cargo Airline of the Year and ranked it fourth among their top 20 airlines.

Throughout the pandemic, Cho demonstrated hands-on leadership by volunteering for a repatriation mission to Wuhan, the initial epicenter of COVID-19, to support cabin crew members shortly after the outbreak began. He also participated alongside staff and executives in manually cleaning and disinfecting aircraft to reassure the public about onboard safety during these challenging times.

Awards

• 2020: Awarded the Médaille d'honneur des affaires étrangères de la France (Honor Medal from the French Ministry of Foreign Affairs)
• 2021: Recognized as Airline of the Year by Air Transport World (ATW)
• 2021: Honored with the Person of the Year Award by Orient Aviation
• 2022: Named Cargo Operator of the Year by Air Transport World (ATW)
• 2022: Received the Air Cargo Leadership Award from FlightGlobal
• 2022: Presented with the Cargo Airline of the Year Award by AirlineRatings.com
• 2023: Granted the Excellence in Leadership Award by Air Transport World (ATW)
• 2024: Earned the Korea Management Award from the Korean Academic Society of Business Administration (KASBA)

External links

• File:Commons-logo.svg Media related to at Wikimedia Commons