Korean Air chairman and chief executive Cho Yang-ho has died in a Los Angeles hospital. He was 70 years old. He is survived by his wife and children.
Cho had been on the Korean Air board for 27 years and had held his position as chairman and chief executive for two decades. Cho’s son, Walter, remains on the board and is the airline’s president.
The elder Cho was a well-known figure in the aviation industry who was a founder of the Skyteam alliance, led the successful bid committee for the 2018 Winter Olympics and had served on the board of governors of the International Air Transport Association.
Cho was involved in the airline industry throughout his life after his father, Choong-Hoon Cho, acquired and privatized Korean Air 50 years ago.
He began working for Korean Air as a manager in the Americas Regional Headquarters in Los Angeles in 1974 after graduating from the University of Southern California.
He was named the airline’s chairman and chief executive in 1999 having served as president and CEO four years earlier.