Summary

Park Sam-koo, the third son of Kumho Group founder Park In-chon, was born on March 19, 1945, in Gwangju, South Jeolla Province. He graduated from Yonsei University with a degree in Economics and began his career at Kumho Tire in his 20s. In October 1973, at the age of 28, he was appointed Executive Director of Kumho Industrial. He was promoted to Vice President in September 1979 and became CEO in January 1980 at the age of 35.

In 1991, Park was appointed President of Asiana Airlines and later became Vice Chairman of Asiana Airlines in January 2001. In January 2002, he also became Vice Chairman of Kumho Group. Following the death of his older brother, Park Jeong-koo, from lung cancer in September 2002, Park Sam-koo assumed the role of the group’s chairman at 57, in line with their father’s principle of shared family management. Shortly after assuming his new role, he changed the group’s name from Kumho to Kumho Asiana.

During his tenure, Park made significant acquisitions, including Daewoo Construction in 2006 and Korea Express in 2008, temporarily boosting Kumho Asiana Group to the 7th position among South Korea’s conglomerates. However, these acquisitions were heavily leveraged with funds from the group’s subsidiaries. The global financial crisis in late 2008 exacerbated the group’s financial woes. By June 2009, just three years after the acquisition, Park was forced to sell Daewoo Construction due to unresolved put-back options promised to financial investors. This sale knocked Kumho Asiana out of the top ten conglomerates in South Korea.

Unable to stabilize the situation, Park proceeded to sell off valuable subsidiaries, including Kumho Rent-a-Car, Kumho Express, and Kumho Life Insurance. This led to Kumho Industrial, the group’s holding company, and Kumho Tire being placed under creditor management. In July 2009, Park announced his resignation along with his brother, Park Chan-koo. However, Park returned as Group Chairman in October 2010.

By 2011, Park had sold Korea Express to CJ Group in July and Kumho Express in June 2012. He returned as CEO of Kumho Industrial in November 2013 and reacquired Kumho Express for 415 billion won in May 2015.

During this period, Park faced growing issues. According to the family’s management principles, he was supposed to hand over control to his younger brother, Park Chan-koo, in 2009. However, due to conflicts during the acquisitions of Daewoo Construction and Korea Express, Park Sam-koo attempted to alter the agreed-upon succession plan to pass control to his son, Park Se-chang. This led to a dispute among the siblings, culminating in Park Chan-koo selling his shares in subsidiaries and, in 2011, seeking a formal separation of the petrochemical division from the group. By December 2015, the split was finalized, with Park Chan-koo taking charge of the newly formed Kumho Petrochemical Group, while Park Sam-koo managed the construction and aviation sectors.

Park, who had briefly stepped down amid the legal battle with his brother, returned to a managerial role. He continued restructuring efforts, but the group’s recovery proved challenging. Asiana Airlines continued to struggle, and in 2019, auditors raised doubts about the financial statements, leading to allegations of accounting fraud. Consequently, Park resigned from all his positions, including Chairman of the group and CEO and director roles at Asiana Airlines and Kumho Industrial, on March 28, 2019, marking a disgraceful exit. On April 15, 2019, Kumho Asiana Group’s board decided to sell Asiana Airlines.

The troubles persisted. In 2017, the Korea Fair Trade Commission accused Park and others of unfairly supporting Kumho Express during the group’s restructuring. Additional charges emerged, including the misappropriation of 330 billion won from four subsidiaries to fund the acquisition of Kumho Industrial shares in late 2015. He also faced allegations related to the undervalued sale of Asiana Airlines’ in-flight meal business rights, which led to the “no meal” incident. In February 2018, he was embroiled in a controversy for allegedly encouraging female flight attendants, linked to the #MeToo movement.

Ultimately, Park Sam-koo was indicted and detained in May 2021. On August 17, 2022, the Seoul Central District Court sentenced him to 10 years in prison. In a subsequent appeal, on November 21, 2023, the court upheld the 10-year prison sentence in the second trial.

Timeline

▲ March 19, 1945 = Born in Gwangju, South Jeolla Province, South Korea, as the fifth child (third son) among seven siblings (four brothers and three sisters) to Park In-chon, the founder of Kumho Group.

▲ 1968 = Graduated with a Bachelor’s degree in Economics from Yonsei University.

▲ October 1973 = Appointed Executive Director at Kumho Industrial.

▲ September 1979 = Promoted to Vice President at Kumho Industrial in September.

▲ January 1980 = Became President and CEO of Kumho Industrial in January.

▲ 1991 = Appointed President of Asiana Airlines.

▲ January 2001 = Became Vice Chairman of Asiana Airlines.

▲ January 2002 = Appointed Vice Chairman of Kumho Group in January.

▲ September 2002 = Took over as Chairman of Kumho Group following the death of his second brother, Park Jeong-koo, due to lung cancer.

▲ January 2004 = Rebranded the group from Kumho to Kumho Asiana.

▲ November 2006 = Acquired Daewoo Construction.

▲ March 2008 = Acquired Korea Express.

▲ June 2009 = Sold Daewoo Construction due to unresolved financial obligations, leading to a drop out of the top ten conglomerates in South Korea.

▲ July 2009 = Announced joint resignation with his brother, Park Chan-koo.

▲ November 2009 = Decided to sell Kumho Life Insurance.

▲ January 2010 = Major Affiliate Workout

▲ March 2010 = Sold Kumho Rent-a-Car.

▲ October 2010 = Returned as Group Chairman in October.

▲ July 2011 = Sold Korea Express to CJ Group.

▲ June 2012 = Sold Kumho Express.

▲ November 2013 = Returned as CEO of Kumho Industrial.

▲ May 2015 = Reacquired Kumho Express for 415 billion won.

▲ December 2015 = Finalized the split of Kumho Petrochemical Group, with Park Chan-koo heading the new group while Park Sam-koo retained management of the construction and aviation sectors.

▲ 2017 = Accused by the Korea Fair Trade Commission of unfair practices supporting Kumho Express during the group’s restructuring. Faced allegations of misappropriation of 330 billion won from subsidiaries and undervaluation in the sale of Asiana Airlines’ in-flight meal business rights, leading to the “no meal” incident.

▲ February 2018 = Faced controversy due to allegations related to “encouraging female flight attendants,” linked to the #MeToo movement.

▲ July 2018 = Experienced a major crisis with Asiana Airlines’ in-flight meal supply.

▲ March 2019 = Resigned from all positions.

▲ April 2019 = Kumho Asiana Group decided to sell Asiana Airlines in a board meeting.

▲ May 2021 = Indicted and detained on charges related to financial misconduct.

▲ August 17, 2022 = Sentenced to 10 years in prison by the Seoul Central District Court.