Hyosung Group Honorary Chair Cho Suck-rai, the father of incumbent Chair Cho Hyun-joon, died of a chronic disease at the age of 89, according to industry sources Friday.
It has been seven years since he stepped down from his top management post in 2017 due to his advanced age and health.
Born as the eldest son of Hyosung founder Cho Hong-jai in 1935, Cho Suck-rai pursued his academic interests in chemistry at Japan's Waseda University and earned a master's degree in chemical engineering from the University of Illinois in the US.
Initially, he dreamed of becoming a university professor, but in 1966, while preparing for a doctorate, he received a call from his father and returned home and started his entrepreneurial journey by joining Hyosung Corp. in 1966.
Cho played a leading role at the Tongyang Nylon regional plant, which was renamed Hyosung T&C later, assuming it laid the foundation for the future growth of Hyosung's business expansion.
In 1982, he took over as chair of Hyosung Heavy Industries and began to take charge of management. After becoming chair, Cho established Hyosung as a global business entity by leading management innovation and the globalization of key business sectors.
During his lifetime, the honorary chair stressed that the company should make an all-out effort to secure quality that can be used in the global market, saying, "To survive in fierce global competition as a global firm, we must compete with quality, not price."
Cho was actively engaged in private diplomacy and international relations. He maintained close relationships with key Japanese figures, including former Japanese Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda.
He also served as the chair of the Federation of Korean Industries, the country's premier business lobby group, from 1987 to 2007, representing the Korean business community.
Cho's later years were, however, overshadowed by a power struggle between his sons and legal challenges, which caused his departure from the group in 2016. He faced allegations of corporate tax evasion and fraudulent accounting. The case is still pending in court.
