Korean Air Revives Vice Chairman Position After 6 Years... President Woo Ki-hong Promoted

Senior Appointment in Regular Executive Personnel Changes Next January
Revival of Vice Chairman Position Since 2019

Woo Ki-hong, President of Korean Air, will be promoted to Vice Chairman. The position of Vice Chairman is being reinstated for the first time in six years since 2019. This decision is interpreted as a move to manage the organization more efficiently after completing the task of merging with Asiana Airlines and expanding the company's scale.

According to industry sources on the 17th, Cho Won-tae, Chairman of Korean Air, personally announced Woo's promotion to Vice Chairman during a group meeting with executives related to the corporate merger held the previous day. Woo is scheduled to be appointed as Vice Chairman in the regular executive personnel reshuffle in January next year.

With this, the position of Vice Chairman has reappeared at Korean Air for the first time in six years since 2019. Previously, Korean Air appointed Seok Tae-soo, then CEO of Hanjin KAL, the holding company of Hanjin Group, as Vice Chairman in 2018 to strengthen the professional management system. After Seok stepped down from the Vice Chairman position in November the following year, the post remained vacant.

Industry insiders also anticipate the possibility of appointing a Vice Chairman at Hanjin KAL. As Korean Air has grown larger through the acquisition of Asiana Airlines, it is analyzed that the Vice Chairman position was created to assist Chairman Cho and manage internal affairs. Woo has been regarded as one of Chairman Cho's closest aides.

A Korean Air official stated, "After internal procedures, the official appointment is scheduled for January next year," adding, "Other executive personnel matters are undecided."

Woo Ki-hong, Vice Chairman Nominee of Korean Air. Provided by Korean Air

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