The 65-year-old Cho, chairman of the transportation conglomerate Hanjin Group, which includes Korean Air, will replace Kim Jin-sun, the former Governor of Gangwon Province, who quit unexpectedly last week.

The decision will be formally ratified by the Pyeongchang 2018 General Congress on Friday (August 1).

"I will devote myself to a successful Winter Olympics using my experience from the bidding committee," Cho, a graduate of University of Southern California, said. 

Cho has served as President of the Korea Table Tennis Association and vice-president of both Korean Olympic Committee (KOC) and the Asia Table Tennis Union.

Cho Yang-ho (right) will replace Kim Jin-sun (left) as President of Pyeongchang 2018 after his surprise decision to step down ©Pyeongchang 2018

Cho, a high-profile leader of Pyeongchang's bid against rivals Annecy and Munich, had initially claimed he did not have time to take over the role.

That saw Chung Chang-soo, a career bureaucrat and a former Vice Minister of the South Korean Land Ministry, emerge as a strong candidate to succeed Kim.

But his nomination was met with criticism as he had no background in sports administration.

That led to renewed efforts to get Cho to successfully change his mind.

"Many people in and outside Korea recommended that I take this position and I also wanted to keep the promise I'd made with the International Olympic Committee (IOC) to work for a successful Olympics here," said Cho, whose personal wealth is estimated at $525 million by Forbes magazine. 

Kim Jung-haeng, President of the KOC, is currently filling in at Pyeongchang 2018 on an interim basis. 

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