Private company

Hanjin

Logo: Hanjin Group, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons3

South Korean conglomerate

The Hanjin Group (Korean: 한진 그룹; Hanja: 韓進 그룹; RR: Hanjin Geurup) is a South Korean chaebol. 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 (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.2 Its chief executive is Cho Won-tae (since 2019).1 Wikipedia text CC BY-SA 4.0

Last updated Oct 21, 2026.

Overview

Nov 1, 1945Founded1
Hanjin Group Headquarters
Photo: Minseong Kim, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons5

The Hanjin Group (Korean: 한진 그룹; Hanja: 韓進 그룹; RR: Hanjin Geurup) is a South Korean chaebol. 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 (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.2

Corporate structure

Hanjin sits at the top of its group. 10 entities, 3 countries on record. Switch between the flow chart and the network, and select any entity to see its details.

Built from parent and subsidiary links from GLEIF, the Global Legal Entity Identifier Foundation (CC0); subsidiaries, stakes and holdings from Wikidata (CC0); major holders from Schedules 13D and 13G. Each entity in the chart links to its source.

What it owns

What Hanjin reports owning in its annual reports to the SEC: buildings, land and equipment, real estate and locations, investments, intangible assets and inventory, at the end of its latest fiscal year and a year before.

Stakes and holdings (Wikidata)

  • Wilshire Grand Center

Things Wikidata records the company as owning, with the share when stated.1

The story

Founded by Cho Choong-hoon on Nov 1, 1945.1

History

Hanjin started at the end of World War II, in November 1945. Early on, its biggest customer was the U.S. Army, providing the transportation of material to both Korea and Vietnam. 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, and Air Force with cumulative profits reaching at the $150 million mark over a 5-year period [1966-1971]. In November 1969, Hanjin made its entry into the containerized shipping business signing a deal with Sea-Land Service, Inc. Hanjin during that same time period [March 1, 1969] had taken over the "loss-making" state-owned Korean Air Corporation. In September 1970, the company opened its first container yard at the port of Busan.

The late 1970s saw a major push into the Middle East with contracts signed to Kuwait at the port of Shuwaik (September 1977), Saudi Arabia 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 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. The Hanjin-Senator once was the seventh largest container 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.

Information Services

CyberSky

Global Logistics System Korea

Hanjin Information Systems & Telecommunication

Read the full text

TOPAS

From Wikipedia’s article on Hanjin, shared under CC BY-SA 4.0.4

Leadership

Who has led Hanjin, and when. Pick a name to see everywhere that person has worked.

Chief executive

  1. Cho Won-tae2019–now
197019801990200020102020

Products and brands

Homeo Therapy

Uniconverse Co., Ltd

From Wikipedia’s article on Hanjin, shared under CC BY-SA 4.0.4

Subsidiaries and ownership

Subsidiaries

Also owns

  • Wilshire Grand Center

From Wikidata.1

Timeline

  1. Apr 2019New chief executive Cho Won-tae becomes CEO1
  2. Nov 1, 1945Founded Founded1

Sources

The numbers on this page point here. Each one links to the record it came from.

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