Hanjin chairman receives honorary gold medal from France

Hanjin Group Chairman Cho Won-tae has been awarded an honorary medal from the French government for the company’s diplomatic contribution, according to the company on Dec. 18.

In a Korea-France event held on Thursday, Chairman Cho received an honorary gold medal from Franck Riester, the visiting Minister Delegate for Foreign Trade and Economic Attractiveness.

The medal, established in 2010, is an honorary award bestowed to those who have made a significant contribution to France and its citizens. The medals are awarded in gold, silver and bronze based on the level of contribution.

Chairman Cho was granted the medal to acknowledge Hanjin’s efforts in providing flights home for French residents in Korea despite air travel restrictions on account of COVID-19.

Hanjin Group is the parent company of Korean Air Lines., the country’s largest airline, which has continued to operate direct flights between Korea and Paris three times a week during the pandemic despite a sharp drop in passengers.

“I receive this honor as an encouragement to further contribute to the relations between the two countries,” Cho said.

Hanjin Group’s late founder Cho Choong-hoon and late Chairman Cho Yang-ho were recipients of the Legion of Honour, France’s highest order of merit for military and civil contribution.

Write to Kyung-min Kang at kkm1026@hankyung.com
Danbee Lee edited this article.