[THE INVESTOR] Cho Yang-ho, chairman of Hanjin Group and Korean Air, on April 22 issued a public apology on the behalf of his younger daughter Hyun-min. He also said both Hyun-min and her sister Hyun-ah would be removed from their executive posts, and that Korean Air would adopt more professional managers.
For those who may not know, Hanjin is a Chaebol business that operates Korea’s largest airliner Korean Air. His elder daughter Hyun-ah made headlines globally back in 2014 for the so-called ”nut rage” incident. She was "fired," but eventually returned as an executive at KAL Hotel Network. Hyun-min is her younger sister who recently gained notoriety of her own right due to her mistreatment of employees.
Below is their father’s apology.
Korean Air Chairman Cho Yang-ho |
I offer my deepest apologies to you and also the employees of Korean Air for the recent incident involving our family.
As the chairman of Korean Air and the head of a family, I cannot express how crushed I am about my daughter’s foolish actions. It is all my fault. I apologize to all the employees of Korean Air and to everyone who were hurt by us.
I will immediately remove both Hyun-ah and Hyun-min from their posts. At Korean Air, I will appoint the current Hanjin Kal CEO as vice chairman to enlist the help of professional managers.
I will also put more emphasis on the board of directors of Hanjin Group. In particular, I will formulate an ethics committee comprised of both Hanjin and outside figures to put preventative measures into place.
Once again, I offer my apologies to everyone who were hurt by the recent turn of events. I promise that Korean Air and Hanjin Group will change completely to become a company that you can approve of.
Sincerely,
Cho Yang-ho
By Bryan Hong (bhong@heraldcorp.com)