The Hanjin Group () is a South Korean

chaebol A chaebol ( , ; , ) is a large industrial South Korean conglomerate run and controlled by an individual or family. A chaebol often consists of multiple diversified affiliates, controlled by a person or group. Several dozen large South Kore ...

. The group has various industries covered from transportation and airlines to hotels, tourism, and airport businesses, and is one of the largest chaebols in Korea. The group includes

Korean Air Korean Air Lines Co., Ltd. (KAL; ) is the flag carrier of South Korea and its largest airline based on fleet size, international destinations, and international flights. It is owned by the Hanjin, Hanjin Group. The present-day Korean Air tra ...

(KAL), which was acquired by the founder Cho Choong-hoon in 1969, and was the owner of Hanjin Shipping (once the largest shipping company in Korea) before its bankruptcy. In 2013, Hanjin Group officially switched from cross ownership to a holding company structure with the establishment of Hanjin KAL Corporation. The group is controlled by descendants of Cho Choong-hoon, and many construction chaebols are the major shareholders of Hanjin KAL.

History

Hanjin started at the end of

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, in November 1945. Early on, its biggest customer was the U.S. Army, providing the transportation of material to both Korea and

Vietnam Vietnam, officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam (SRV), is a country at the eastern edge of mainland Southeast Asia, with an area of about and a population of over 100 million, making it the world's List of countries and depende ...

. The company signed a major contract with the US 8th Army in November 1956, and another contract in March 1966, with all of the U.S. armed forces in Vietnam, including the Army,

Navy A navy, naval force, military maritime fleet, war navy, or maritime force is the military branch, branch of a nation's armed forces principally designated for naval warfare, naval and amphibious warfare; namely, lake-borne, riverine, littoral z ...

, and

Air Force An air force in the broadest sense is the national military branch that primarily conducts aerial warfare. More specifically, it is the branch of a nation's armed services that is responsible for aerial warfare as distinct from an army aviati ...

. In November 1969, Hanjin made its entry into the containerized shipping business signing a deal with Sea-Land Service, Inc. In September 1970, the company opened its first container yard at the port of

Busan Busan (), officially Busan Metropolitan City, is South Korea's second list of cities in South Korea by population, most populous city after Seoul, with a population of over 3.3 million as of 2024. Formerly romanized as Pusan, it is the economi ...

. The late 1970s saw a major push into the

Middle East The Middle East (term originally coined in English language) is a geopolitical region encompassing the Arabian Peninsula, the Levant, Turkey, Egypt, Iran, and Iraq. The term came into widespread usage by the United Kingdom and western Eur ...

with contracts signed to

Kuwait Kuwait, officially the State of Kuwait, is a country in West Asia and the geopolitical region known as the Middle East. It is situated in the northern edge of the Arabian Peninsula at the head of the Persian Gulf, bordering Iraq to Iraq–Kuwait ...

at the port of Shuwaik (September 1977),

Saudi Arabia Saudi Arabia, officially the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA), is a country in West Asia. Located in the centre of the Middle East, it covers the bulk of the Arabian Peninsula and has a land area of about , making it the List of Asian countries ...

at the port of Dammam (March 1979), and at the port of Jeddah (May 1980). In March 1990, Hanjin branched out into trucking and warehousing with the purchase of Korea Freight Transport Company. In June 1992, Hanjin Express was introduced to deliver small packages and provide courier service. The company started to load and unload cargo at the ports of Long Beach and

Seattle Seattle ( ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Washington and in the Pacific Northwest region of North America. With a population of 780,995 in 2024, it is the 18th-most populous city in the United States. The city is the cou ...

with the joint venture Total Terminals International LLC., in August 1992. In January 1993, they initiated container rail service between Busan and Uiwang. In May 1995, Hanjin hauled grain to

North Korea North Korea, officially the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK), is a country in East Asia. It constitutes the northern half of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and borders China and Russia to the north at the Yalu River, Yalu (Amnok) an ...

. The Hanjin-Senator once was the seventh largest

container A container is any receptacle or enclosure for holding a product used in storage, packaging, and transportation, including shipping. Things kept inside of a container are protected on several sides by being inside of its structure. The term ...

transportation and shipping company in the world (operations ceased February 2009). After Hanjin's founder, Cho Choong-hoon, died in 2002, his eldest son, Cho Yang-ho, inherited KAL, when his third son, Cho Soo-ho, was handed Hanjin Shipping. Cho Soo-ho died from lung cancer in 2006 and his widow, Choi Eun-young, became the chairwoman of Hanjin Shipping in the following year. KAL acquired 33.2 percent of Hanjin Shipping in June 2014. On 31 August 2016, Hanjin Shipping filed for bankruptcy. Hanjin Shipping's creditors withdrew their support after deeming a funding plan by parent company Hanjin inadequate.

Affiliates

Hanjin Group manages the basis of its holding company Hanjin-KAL which was established in August 2013.

Aviation

* Air Korea * Incheon Aviation Technology * Jin Air *

* Korea Airport Service

Foreign Corporation

* Hanjin International Corporation * Waikiki Resort Hotel

Ground Transportation

* Hanjin Busan Newport Co. * Hanjin Incheon Container Terminal Co, Ltd * Hanjin Transportation Co., LTD * Seoul Integrated Freight Terminal

Information Services

* CyberSky * Global Logistics System Korea * Hanjin Information Systems & Telecommunication * TOPAS

Nonprofit Corporations

* Il Woo Foundation * Inha Technical College * Inha University * Inha University Hospital * Jungseok Logistics Fondation * Jungseok-Inha Educational Foundation * Korea Aerospace University

Tourism·Hotel·Leisure·Real Estate

* Air Total Service * Hanjin Travel * Jungseok Enterprise Co., Ltd * KAL Hotel Network * Wangsan Marina

Executive Leadership of Hanjin Group

Pre-Incorporation Period

* Cho Joong-hoon (1945–1958)

Post-Incorporation Period

Chairman & CEO

* Cho Joong-hoon (1972–2002) * Cho Yang-ho (2002–2019)
Cho Won-tae
(2019–Present)

Vice Chairman

* Kim Hyung-bae (1983–1988) * Hwang Chang-hak (1996–2002) * Cho Yang-ho (2002)

President & CEO

* Cho Joong-hoon (1958–1972) * Jeon Yoon-jin (1972–1973) * Kim Hyung-bae (1973–1983) * Kim Geon-bae & Heo Gi (1983–1988) * Hwang Chang-hak (1988–1996) * Lee Tae-won (1996–2000) * Kim In-jin (2000–2004) * Lee Won-young (2004–2008) * Seo Yong-won (2014–2019)
Noh Sam-seok
(2022–Present)

President

Emily Lee Cho
(2022–Present)

Executive Vice President

* Seok Tae-soo (2009–2013)
Ryu Kyung-pyo
(2019–2022)
Noh Sam-seok
(2020–2022)

Managing Director

* Seok Tae-soo (2008–2009)

Other subsidiaries

* Homeo Therapy * Uniconverse Co., Ltd

References

External links

* {{Authority control Chaebol Companies based in Seoul Companies listed on the Korea Exchange Companies in the KOSPI 200 Multinational companies headquartered in South Korea Transport companies established in 1945 1945 establishments in Korea South Korean brands SkyTeam