Hanjin Group heiress named as Hanjin Transportation’s executive director

[Photo provided by Hanjin Group]

Hanjin Transportation Co., a logistics unit of South Korea’s Hanjin Group, named Cho Hyun-min as an executive director to oversee the company’s future growth strategy and marketing.

The appointment of Cho Hyun-min, the younger sister of Hanjin Group Chairman Cho Won-tae, was approved by shareholders during Hanjin Transportation’s annual meeting in Seoul Thursday. Cho is expected to participate in the overall management of the company with Chief Executive Officer Noh Sam-seok and work on expanding overseas investment and attracting high-value customers.

Born in 1983, Cho stepped down from managerial roles in 2018 amid controversy after she threw a drink at an employee of an advertising agency in a fit of rage but came back as Hanjin Transportation’s marketing director in September 2020. She was promoted to vice president in January 2021 and to president early last year.

Although she served as an inside director of Jin Air Co., the low-cost carrier under Hanjin Group, from 2010 to 2016 before the airline went public, this is the first time she has been appointed as a registered director of a listed company.

At the shareholder meeting, Noh was re-elected as an executive director and proposals to appoint two outside directors were also approved.

“Last year, we faced a difficult economic environment due to the surge in oil prices, financial market crunch and natural disasters,” Noh said to shareholders. “We will increase profitability by expanding high-value-added customers and improving operations continuously.”

Noh proposed a target of 3.07 trillion won ($2.34 billion) in sales and 140 billion won in operating profit this year. To achieve this, the company will focus on profitability-oriented marketing, improving productivity through automation and equipment modernization, expanding overseas and fostering digital platform business.