Korean Air CEO Cho Yang-Ho, who has led the airline's
massive growth over more than two decades, died in a Los Angeles hospital on
Sunday from a chronic lung condition. Cho, 70, became president and CEO of
Korean Air in 1995 and chairman in 1999. Since then, the carrier has grown to
one of Asia's largest, flying to 124 cities in 44 countries. Most recently, he
was behind negotiations for Korean Air's joint
partnership with Delta. Cho, whose father Cho Choong-Hoon acquired
and privatized Korean Air 50 years ago, faced scandals of late, including a
2018 indictment on embezzlement and breach of trust charges. Although he denied
them, those charges led to his removal from the Korean Air board last month.
Cho's son and Korean Air president Cho Won-tae is seen as his likely successor,
according to the Financial Times.