Villaraigosa's tree program gets boost from Korean Air

Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa's effort to put his Million Trees program back on track received some major help Tuesday from Korean Air, which will donate $160,000 over the next four years to help plant trees across Los Angeles.

The airline's chairman and chief executive, Yang-Ho Cho, a USC graduate, flew across the Pacific to join Villaraigosa at John H. Liechty Middle School just west of downtown L.A. to kick off the partnership.

Million Trees was a cornerstone of Villaraigosa's environmental agenda but ran into criticism last year because it relied so heavily on tree giveaways -- primarily the distribution of seedlings, which have a high mortality rate.

So far, 200,000 trees have been planted.

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phil.willon@latimes.com