South Korea’s large conglomerate Hanjin Group that is struggling to rescue its ailing container carrier Hajin Shipping Co. has reinforced its third-generation management structure to tighten grip over the group and its units.

Jungseok Enterprise Co., a property management subsidiary of Hanjin Kal Corp., the de facto holding company of Hanjin Group, Wednesday appointed Korea Air Lines Co.’s vice president Cho Won-tae, the first son of the group’s Chairman Cho Yang-ho, as a board member of the company. Jungseok Enterprise is an unlisted company specializing in real estate trading and leasing with its operating profit margin reaching 34 percent last year.

Hanjin Kal’s another subsidiary Hanjin Travel Service Co. also named the group’s budget carrier Jin Air Co.’s vice president Cho Hyun-min, the second daughter of Chairmen Cho, the company’s new CEO. She will run the company with the incumbent CEO, Kwon Oh-sang.

The group appointed vice president Cho Won-tae a board member of Jungseok Enterprise as part of efforts to manage its subsidiary with more responsibility and named vice president Cho Hyun-min CEO of Hanjin Travel Service to increase profits through enhanced marketing, according to an unnamed official at Hanjin Group.

However, the business circles believe that the group chairman was urged to strengthen hereditary successions amid growing anxiety inside and outside the group, which has been struggling to revive its cash-strapped container shipping subsidiary Hanjin Shipping. Chairman Cho and the owner family have been under pressure to play more active roles in rescuing the shipping unit, but Chairman Cho has remained reluctant to idea of an addition bailout.

Cho Hyun-min had been promoted to vice president from marketing director of Jin Air last month while Cho Won-tae got promotion to general vice president from vice president of Korea Air Lines early this year.

Following the latest management reshuffle, Cho Won-tae resigned from CEO of computerized reservation system (CRS) service provider Topas Co., a subsidiary of Korea Air Lines, and his younger sister Hyun-min, from a board member of the company. The group said that they resigned from the posts because the CRS service provider has fared well with stable management.

By Kim Jung-hwan

[ⓒ Pulse by Maeil Business News Korea & mk.co.kr, All rights reserved]