Born in Seoul, Cho received a bachelor's degree in industrial engineering from Inha University in 1975, an MBA from the University of Southern California in 1979, and a doctoral degree in business administration from Inha University in 1988. Additionally in 1998, he received an honorary doctorate degree in aviation business administration from Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University, Florida. Cho was the chairman of the Hanjin Group, a transportation conglomerates. He was named to this post in February 2003 after having served as the Group's vice chairman since 1996. He was also the Director and CEO of various subsidiary companies including Hanjin Shipping, Korea Airport Service, JungSeok Enterprise Co. and Hanjin Information Systems & Telecommunications. Cho was elected vice-chairman of The Federation of Korean Industries in 1996, and held the title of honorary consul-general to Ireland in the Republic of Korea from 1995 until his death in 2019. He was named Chairman of the Korea-French High Level Businessmen's Club in October 2000 and also served on the Board of Governors for the International Air Transport Association after being elected in May 2001. In addition, he became chairman of the Korea-Canada Business Council in 1993 and, from 2004 to 2019, served as Chairman of the Korea Defense Industry Association. Cho formerly sat on the University of Southern California Board of Trustees for a span beginning in 1997. In addition, he served as the chairman of the board of directors at both Inha and Hankuk Aviation University. In 2000, he was convicted of tax evasion. He was appointed as the head of the Pyeong Chang 2018 Bid Committee, which won the bid to host the Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games in 2018. He later served as the president and CEO of the Pyeong Chang 2018 Organizing Committee from 2014 to 2016. In May 2018, a protest rally called for Cho to step down as chairman of Korean Air. In March 2019, under the support of NPS, he was ousted from the board by shareholders amid various scandals involving him and his family members. This was the first time that a founding member of a major South Korean family was forced from the board and it is considered to have been a victory for those working to restrict the powers of the chaebols.
Cho was the son of, the founder of Hanjin Group and head of Korean Air. Cho was married, with a son, Cho Won-tae, and two daughters: Cho Hyun-ah and Cho Hyeon-min. All three children are graduates of the University of Southern California. On 8 April 2019, Cho died at a hospital in Los Angeles County, California, US, at the age of 70.
