Jowon Tae: "It Is an Honor That the State Called Me... I Will Not Take Issue with the Wuhan Consul's Remarks"

"Chartered Flight Boarding for Employees Who Volunteered Despite Danger... Decided to Laugh Off the Incident"

[Asia Economy Reporter Yu Je-hoon] Cho Won-tae, Chairman of Hanjin Group, said on the 7th regarding the charter flight to Wuhan, China, "We should consider it an honor that the country called on us when needed," and added, "Please remember Korean Air's responsibility and role."

On the same day, Chairman Cho posted an article titled "Returning from Wuhan with Our Flight Attendants" on the company bulletin board, stating, "I would like to once again express my gratitude to all flight, cabin, maintenance, and transportation staff who boarded the charter flight, and I promise never to forget your hard work."

Regarding the boarding process, Chairman Cho said, "The flight attendants went despite knowing the risks, and I boarded the plane with them in mind," adding, "I was worried that my boarding might prevent some overseas Koreans from boarding, but since the government delegation, not overseas Koreans, boarded the upper deck of the B747-400, I decided to go believing it would not affect them."

He then addressed recent criticism from Jeong Da-woon, the police consul in Wuhan, saying, "At first, I was really hurt, but it made me think about the basics of this charter flight," and added, "Thinking about the original purpose of boarding for the employees who volunteered despite the risks, I decided to just laugh it off."

Chairman Cho also emphasized, "Our employees volunteering to go to a high-risk area is simply fulfilling their role and responsibility as employees of Korean Air, the national and representative airline of the Republic of Korea, not because they wanted praise or recognition," and reiterated, "I believe Korean Air is the only help available to our customers, the overseas Koreans in Wuhan, when they are in danger. We approved the charter flight for those customers and boarded the aircraft for the flight attendants and our employees."

He added, "There was almost nothing to do inside the aircraft, but I tried not to disturb the busy flight attendants preparing," and said, "I could only watch the flight attendants who must have found it hard to breathe wearing protective suits and masks, but I felt at ease being with them."

Chairman Cho concluded, "Considering the situation at the time, the Wuhan consul's remarks were inappropriate, but I will not make an issue of it," and expressed hope that "the dedication and spirit of sacrifice of our employees will not be in vain." Reporter Yu Je-hoon kalamal@

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.