News
Korean Air to merge with Air Busan despite minority investor opposition
January 16th 2025
Korean Air (KAL) will proceed with the merger of three LCCs, Jin Air, Air Seoul and Air Busan, despite opposition from some Busan-based shareholders, The Korea Times reports. Read More » The city of Busan and several regional companies hold 16% equity in Air Busan, it said. The dissident shareholders are urging KAL either to sell Air Busan or relocate the headquarters of the future merged LCC to Busan, South Korea’s second largest city. Air Busan reported sales of 757.8 billion won ($518.18 million) in the nine months to September 30, up 18.07% from a year ago. Its net profit was better by 30.97%, at 60.9 billion won, against the matching months of last year. The fact Air Busan is on course to improve profitability means KAL has little incentive to hive it off despite opposition to the merger, an industry insider told The Korea Times. On January 17, at an Air Busan shareholder meeting, KAL executives will be appointed to the LCC’s board. The merged carrier will operate under the Jin Air brand and be based in Seoul Incheon. Asiana Airlines, now majority owned by KAL, has a 41.89% holding in Air Busan.
