Cho Yang-ho, 70, was on trial for corruption and his death comes less than two weeks after he was forced off the board by shareholders amid snowballing scandals surrounding his family members. The head of South Korea's flag carrier Korean Air – whose family have been embroiled in multiple scandals including an infamous "nut rage" tantrum – has died, the airline said Monday, sending its shares soaring.

Cho Yang-ho, 70, was on trial for corruption and his death comes less than two weeks after he was forced off the board by shareholders amid snowballing scandals surrounding his family members.

The company said Cho "died peacefully" in a Los Angeles hospital on Sunday but did not provide details about his cause of death.

The tycoon was the chairman of the Hanjin Group -- one of the sprawling family-led conglomerates known as "chaebol" that dominate the South Korean economy -- and controlled around 30 percent of Korean Air through its parent company Hanjin Kal.

The company had said he would carry on playing a management role despite becoming the first controlling shareholder of a South Korean conglomerate to be kicked off the board when he failed to secure the required two-thirds majority to be re-elected.

Under Cho, Korean Air emerged as one of the world's top airlines, flying to 124 cities in 44 countries, and he headed the bid committee that saw the South awarded the 2018 Winter Olympics.

But the Cho family has come under scrutiny in recent years after being embroiled in multiple criminal probes over charges including assault, embezzlement, and smuggling luxury goods.

Cho was on trial for embezzling more than 20 billion won ($18 million) and unfairly awarding contracts to companies controlled by his family members.