Mr Cho had supported Formula 1 for a long time. He entered the motorsport in 1994 with Korean Air, then part of the Hanjin group of companies, sponsoring the Simtek team. In mid-1995, they moved sponsorship to the Tyrell team before joining Benetton in 1997.
Korean Air continued to sponsor Benetton until late 2001 when Renault appeared on the scene. The Renault car featured the ‘Hanjin’ logo, promoting Hanjin Shipping, a company which operates in 80 ports in 35 countries. Hanjin still remain a sponsor of the Renault team.