In the Dodram 2022-2023 V-League in early April, Korean Air and Expressway Corporation won the male and female champions. In particular, Korean Air achieved its first ‘treble’ by winning the regular league and championship match for three consecutive years. On the day Korean Air set a record, Hanjin Group Chairman Cho Won-tae and Korea Volleyball Federation (KOVO) president enjoyed joy with the players at the gym. As he was passionate about volleyball, he couldn’t help but feel rewarded.
In early March, about a month ago, 14 male and female clubs unanimously re-elected Cho as the 8th president for a three-year term. Cho, whose term of office is about to expire in June, will serve a third consecutive term. President Cho said, “I thank all the clubs for re-confidence, and I will try to develop the league more than I did in the last two terms.”
After taking office as president of Korean Air in 2017, he served as president of KOVO along with the inauguration of the owner of the Korean Air volleyball team. He put a lot of effort into making Korean Air the strongest team in the league with aggressive investments, and making professional volleyball the best indoor sport in winter, overtaking professional basketball. The fact that volleyball players entrusted him with the KOVO president for three years proves that the contribution he made during that time was so great.
He also served as the head of the Korea Professional Sports Association for a two-year term at the beginning of last year, and is evaluated for leading important roles well. In 2015, the Korea Professional Sports Association launched seven professional sports organizations (K League, KBO, KBL, WKBL, KOVO, KPGA, and KLPGA) as members. The Korea Professional Sports Association is carrying out hosting organization support projects such as performance evaluation, information and communication technology and data-based projects, fraud prevention and fairness reinforcement projects, professional sports manpower training, and players’ rights and interests improvement support projects.
Three generations of volleyball love
Korean Air and Inha University are very important volleyball teams in Korean volleyball history. The two teams operated by the Hanjin Group are prestigious teams that have produced many players who have made Korean volleyball shine. Korean Air boasts the second longest history after KEPCO. It is a historic club that has been going on ever since it was founded in 1969. Choi Jong-ok in the 1970s, Cha Ju-hyeon in the 1980s, Han Jang-seok, and Choi Cheon-shik, etc., produced the best national team in the past. Inha University, the same foundation as Korean Air, has also been reigning as the strongest team in college volleyball since the 1970s. Inha University, led by coach Choi Cheon-shik, who has always had success at Inha University and Korean Air, has produced many great players such as Kim Jong-min, who has been active in professional volleyball.
The protagonists who developed Korean Air and Inha University into the nation’s most prestigious volleyball team are the three generations of the Korean Air chairman’s family, represented by Chairman Cho Won-tae. Following grandfather Cho Jung-hoon (1920-2002) and father Cho Yang-ho (1949-2019), Chairman Cho Won-tae is directly related to the two teams. Former Chairman Joong-Hoon Cho, the founder of Korean Air, not only developed the company into Korea’s representative airline, but also contributed to the development of sports by founding volleyball and table tennis teams. Former Chairman Cho Yang-ho developed the company into a world-class airline by demonstrating his outstanding managerial skills, following the will of former Chairman Joong-Hoon Cho, and actively sponsored volleyball and table tennis teams. Former chairman Cho Yang-ho, who was deeply involved in fostering Korean sports, also served as the 2018 Pyeongchang Winter Olympics bid chairman and organizing committee chairman. 안전놀이터
Chairman Cho Won-tae, who became chairman of the Hanjin Group as a third-generation owner due to the sudden death of former chairman Yang-ho Cho, normalized the management of Korean Air, which is struggling with Corona 19, and focused on stably leading the integration of Korean Air and Asiana Airlines, He devoted extraordinary efforts to fostering Korean Air and Inha University volleyball teams, which were cherished by his father and father.