Aju Business Daily

SEOUL -- Cho Hyun-min, the youngest daughter of Hanjin Group's late chairman Cho Yang-ho, came back as a group executive, 14 months after she stood down for throwing a glass cup during a business meeting with advertising agency officials.

The 35-year-old made her first appearance at work Monday as Hanjin KAL's executive director and a vice president of Jungseok Enterprise, a real estate management arm of the group. "Executive director Cho Hyun-min will focus her capacity on the group's social contribution activities and development of new businesses based on her diverse and rich experience with Hanjin Group," a Korean Air official said.

As Korean Air's executive director, she allegedly threw a glass cup and sprayed plum juice at other participants at a business meeting in May last year. She told investigators that she lost her temper because an advertising company official did not properly answer her questions.

Public fury fanned by additional disclosures about misconducts by the ruling family had led to multiple investigations into the late chairman, his wife and children on charges of creating a slush fund, evading taxes, bringing in luxury foreign goods illegally, abusing and assaulting company employees and others.

Cho Hyun-min had no legal problem coming back to management because she was cleared of charges by prosecutors, Hanjin officials said, adding she would respect the will of her late father who has emphasized harmony among family members. Her comeback came after her brother, Cho Won-tae, chaired the annual meeting of the International Air Transport Association (IATA) in Seoul last week as group chairman.

Cho Won-tae, 43, has a mountain of work to consolidate his group-wide control as Hanjin is under pressure to enhance its corporate governance and transparency in accounting and management following the sudden death of his father on April 8.