Cho Yang-ho

In this Korean name, the family name is Cho.
Cho Yang-ho
President of the PyeongChang Organizing Committee for the 2018 Olympic & Paralympic Winter Games
In office
July 31, 2014 – May 3, 2016
IOC PresidentThomas Bach
Preceded byKim Jin-sun
Succeeded byLee Hee-beom
Chair of the PyeongChang Organizing Committee for the 2018 Olympic & Paralympic Winter Games
In office
July 31, 2014 – May 3, 2016
Chair of the PyeongChang bid: September 14, 2009 – October 5, 2011
Preceded byKim Jin-sun
Succeeded byLee Hee-beom
Personal details
Born(1949-03-08)8 March 1949
Seoul, South Korea
Died8 April 2019(2019-04-08) (aged 70)
Los Angeles County, California, U.S.
Children3
Korean name
Hangul
조양호
Hanja
趙亮鎬
Revised RomanizationJo Yang-ho
McCune–ReischauerCho Yang-ho

Cho Yang-ho (Korean: 조양호; sometimes written Y. H. Cho; 8 March 1949 – 8 April 2019)[1][2] was a South Korean businessman who was the chairman and chief executive officer of Korean Air, chairman of the Hanjin Group, and a founding member of SkyTeam alliance.

Career

Born in Seoul,[2] Cho received a bachelor's degree in industrial engineering from Inha University in 1975, an MBA from the University of Southern California in 1979, and a doctoral degree in business administration from Inha University in 1988. Additionally in 1998, he received an honorary doctorate degree in aviation business administration from Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University, Florida.

Cho was the chairman of the Hanjin Group, a transportation conglomerate. He was named to this post in February 2003 after having served as the Group's vice chairman since 1996. He was also the Director and CEO of various subsidiary companies including Hanjin Shipping, Korea Airport Service (KAS), JungSeok Enterprise Co. and Hanjin Information Systems & Telecommunications (HIST).

Cho was elected vice-chairman of The Federation of Korean Industries (FKI) in 1996, and held the title of honorary consul-general to Ireland in the Republic of Korea from 1995 until his death in 2019. He was named Chairman of the Korea-French High Level Businessmen's Club in October 2000 and also served on the Board of Governors for the International Air Transport Association (IATA) after being elected in May 2001. In addition, he became chairman of the Korea-Canada Business Council in 1993 and, from 2004 to 2019, served as Chairman of the Korea Defense Industry Association. Cho formerly sat on the University of Southern California (USC) Board of Trustees for a span beginning in 1997.[3] In addition, he served as the chairman of the board of directors at both Inha and Hankuk Aviation University.

In 2000, he was convicted of tax evasion.[4][5]

He was appointed the head of the Pyeong Chang 2018 Bid Committee, which won the bid to host the Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games in 2018. He later served as the president and CEO of the Pyeong Chang 2018 Organizing Committee from 2014 to 2016.[6]

In May 2018, a protest rally called for Cho to step down as chairman of Korean Air.[7] In March 2019, under the support of NPS, he was ousted from the board by shareholders amid various scandals involving him and his family members.[8] This was the first time that a founding member of a major South Korean family was forced from the board and it is considered to have been a victory for those working to restrict the powers of the chaebols.[9]

Personal life and death

Cho was the son of Cho Choong-hoon [ko], the founder of Hanjin Group and head of Korean Air.

Cho was married, with a son, Cho Won-tae, and two daughters: Cho Seung-yeon (also known as Heather Cho and formerly Cho Hyeon-ah) and Cho Hyeon-min (also known as Emily Cho). All three children are graduates of the University of Southern California.[1]

On 8 April 2019, Cho died at a hospital in Los Angeles County, California, US, at the age of 70. He had been at the hospital since December 2018 receiving treatment for pulmonary fibrosis.[10][11][12]

Awards

References

  1. ^ a b Fred A. Bernstein, Checking In: Dressing It Up Before Tearing It Down, The New York Times, June 7, 2009, Accessed June 8, 2009.
  2. ^ a b "[Who Is ?] 조양호 한진그룹 회장". The Business Post (in Korean). 4 March 2014. Retrieved 8 April 2019.
  3. ^ "Yang Ho Cho, Korean Corporate Executive, to Join Board of Trustees". USC News. March 23, 1997. Archived from the original on April 8, 2019. Retrieved February 7, 2023.
  4. ^ In-Soo Nam (February 11, 2015). "Former Korean Air Executive Faces Judgment Over 'Nut Rage' Incident". The Wall Street Journal.
  5. ^ "Seoul Jails Embattled Chairman of Korean Air". The New York Times. November 12, 1999.
  6. ^ "세계는 열정적 리더 조양호를 잃었다". 매일경제 (in Korean). Retrieved 2019-11-28.
  7. ^ "Korean Air pilots, crew protest abuse by founding family". AP News. May 5, 2018.
  8. ^ Heekyong Yang; Hyunjoo Jin (2019-03-26). "State pension fund to oppose Korean Air CEO's re-election to board". Reuters. Retrieved 2019-04-08.
  9. ^ "Korean Air's 'nut rage' father dies at 70". 2019-04-08. Retrieved 2019-04-08.
  10. ^ Park, Kyunghee (8 April 2019). "Hanjin Group's Cho Yang-ho Dies at Hospital in Los Angeles". Bloomberg. Retrieved 8 April 2019.
  11. ^ Choi, Ji-hee (April 8, 2019). [속보]조양호 한진그룹 회장 별세. The Chosun Ilbo (in Korean). The Chosun Ilbo Company. Retrieved April 8, 2019.
  12. ^ "Funeral for Korean Air chief begins". The Korea Herald. 2019-04-12. Retrieved 2019-04-12.

Media related to Cho Yang-ho at Wikimedia Commons

Preceded by President of Organizing Committee for 2018 Winter Olympics
2014–2016 		Succeeded by