| Cho Yang-ho / Yonhap |
Cho died of a chronic lung condition in Los Angeles on Sunday (local time) at age 70.
In addition to running Hanjin Group, whose flagship affiliate was Korean Air, Cho helped bring the Winter Olympics to South Korea for the first time as the head of PyeongChang's bidding committee. He later became president of the PyeongChang Organizing Committee for the 2018 Olympic & Paralympic Winter Games (POCOG).
"The IOC is very sad to hear the news that the former POCOG President Cho Yang-ho has passed away. The contribution made by Mr. Cho during his leadership of the organizing committee greatly contributed to the success of the Olympic Winter Games PyeongChang 2018," the IOC said in a statement attributed to its spokesman Mark Adams. "Our thoughts are with his family and friends at this time."
Cho became the president of the POCOG in July 2014, succeeding inaugural chief Kim Jin-sun.
Cho was largely credited with bringing much-needed stability to the organizing efforts following Kim's sudden resignation. Cho oversaw the successful organization of the first Olympic test event, the International Ski Federation (FIS) Alpine World Cup, held in February 2016.
In the fall of 2015, officials from the FIS and the International Olympic Committee (IOC) expressed concerns that the venue of the event, Jeongseon Alpine Centre, wouldn't be finished in time for the races. With Cho calling the shots, the alpine venue was declared ready by January 2016. Representatives from both the IOC and the FIS offered glowing reviews of the competition, while skiers were also effusive about the slopes.
(Yonhap)