Inheritances usually bring us two things — money and issues. When you are from a rich family, more money may mean more issues. This is what is happening between the korean air heirs of Cho Yang-ho, who died on 2019.
Mr. Cho Yang-ho was the chairman and CEO of Korean Air and of Hanjin Group. During his professional development, along with several scandals, he managed to gather a fortune. He was born in 1949 in Incheon, South Korea. He received several international recognitions due to his professional career, but also was convicted in 2000 for tax evasion.
Both of his scandals, including the ones with his son and daughters involved, make him unpopular among a big portion of South Korean society.
Before his death, Cho Yang-ho divided his stock shares between his sons, and he named his son Cho Won-tae, usually known as Walter Cho, the chairman and CEO of Hanjin Group. The deceased only asked for one thing — for him to run the company in harmony.
Well, it seems that the harmony has disappeared in only a short period of time. One of Walter Cho’s sisters, Heather Cho Hyun-ah, has announced legal actions against her brother because it seems he is ignoring her opinions in management matters.
Nowadays, Walter has 6.52 percent, while his sisters have 6.49 percent (Heather Cho Hyun-ah) and 6.47 percent (Emily Cho Hyun-min). It seems that Heather was talking to their mother in attempt to join her and together put aside Walter.
Knowing that, Walter tried to negotiate with his mother in a meeting. Sadly, for Walter, things did not work as expected. A big altercation occurred, and Walter hurt his mother, even making some cuts on her arms. A few days later they went to the press to assure that they had reconciled and that now everything is alright.
However, looking at the development of the case, it seems that peace won’t last long in this family.
Right now, the heirs of Mr. Cho Yang-ho are facing an investigation because they may have introduced luxury items illegally into South Korea.
Korean Air is the largest airline and flag carrier of South Korea, and Hanjin Group is the largest logistic provider of the country. South Korean society is divided between a few rich families who own the most important companies in the country and the rest of the people. This situation is the result of the times of the dictator Park Chung-hee who favoured some people to help the development of the Korean economy, which in that time was one of the poorest countries in the world. It worked well, but now people are claiming for a better redistribution of the country’s wealth.
Do you want to prevent issues between your heirs? The first thing you need to do is make a will to clearly state what each of them will inherit. We can help you with it. Contact us!