South Korea’s ‘nut rage’ heiress Heather Cho engineering coup to overthrow CEO brother
- Cho Hyun-ah, as she is known in South Korea, is famous for throwing a tantrum on a Korean Air flight after being served nuts in a bag
- She is seeking to wrest control of Hanjin Group, demanding that its leadership, including her brother, is replaced.
The former executive, who threw a tantrum and ordered a steward off a Korean Air flight after she was served nuts in a bag rather than a bowl, is seeking to wrest control of the group that includes the carrier and a suite of hotel and logistics businesses. Heather Cho’s alliance has demanded the empire’s leadership, including brother Walter Cho, 44, be replaced by “professional managers”.
The sibling rivalry has spilled across the local press for months since Heather Cho, 45, lent her support and voting rights to an alliance that includes an activist fund, which happens to be the biggest shareholder in the flagship Hanjin Kal Corp. The rebel shareholders have pushed for Walter Cho’s removal as a board member, a seat that is up for a vote March 27.
Yet rather than undermine investor confidence in Hanjin Kal, the family feud has sparked a rally in the shares as Walter Cho has signalled he’ll go along with some activist demands that he sell noncore assets like hotels.
Also, Delta Air Lines Inc. has increased its stake, strengthening the alliance against Heather Cho. Hanjin stock has almost tripled over the past 12 months and rose to a record on March 4. The shares have rallied 67 per cent since February 20, even as the coronavirus crisis has been slamming aviation and tourism companies.
