SEOUL: As the natural heir to the family controlling Hanjin Group, Walter Cho was catapulted to the top job at the scandal-plagued Korean empire within weeks of his father’s death. Now comes the hard part.

Cho, 43, assumed the position of chairman last month by virtue of being the only son of the late patriarch, sparking skepticism whether he’s capable of leading the airlines-to-logistics conglomerate founded in 1945. He may get a chance to prove his doubters wrong later this week when he hosts the global aviation industry’s biggest annual conference in Seoul, as president of the group’s flagship Korean Air Lines Co.