Asiana CEO steps down after accounting fiasco
Asiana Airlines’ chief executive Park Sam-koo has stepped down after taking the fall for the airline’s 2018 financial statements debacle.
It came after an auditor declined to sign off on its reported balance sheet due to abnormalities and the Korea Exchange suspended trading in its shares.
It has now had its financial statements verified and signed off, but only with a larger annual loss than first reported.
Park also resigned as CEO of Kumho Industrial, which is Asiana Airlines’ main shareholder, and as chairman of Kumho Asiana Group.
"Kumho Asiana Group will launch an emergency management committee to normalise our management in a short period of time, and will hire a respectable person outside the company as the new chairman," the company said in a statement.
Park was co-CEO and fellow chief executive Han Chang-su will remain in the position.
Trading in Asiana shares resumed this week.
The Asiana stock price surged more than 15% on the news of Park’s departure.
Asiana isn’t the only Korean airline facing major boardroom changes.
Cho Yang-ho lost his board seat at Korean Air after failing to get enough votes at a shareholders meeting.
Cho is Hanjin Group chairman and will likely remain in this role despite not getting the required 75% consensus from shareholders.
Cho, 70, has been in charge of Korean Air for 20 years but the past years have been rocky for the Cho family.
Two of Cho’s daughters – both airline directors at the time- have been involved in damaging abuse of power incidents in recent years, including one being jailed briefly.
Cho himself is facing tax evasion charges.
TravelMole Editorial Team
Editor for TravelMole North America and Asia pacific regions. Ray is a highly experienced (15+ years) skilled journalist and editor predominantly in travel, hospitality and lifestyle working with a huge number of major market-leading brands. He has also cover in-depth news, interviews and features in general business, finance, tech and geopolitical issues for a select few major news outlets and publishers.
Vegas’s Billion-Dollar Secrets – What They Don’t Want Tourists to Know
Visit Florida’s New CEO Bryan Griffin Shares His Vision for State Tourism with Graham
Chicago’s Tourism Renaissance: Graham Interviews Kristin Reynolds of Choose Chicago
Graham Talks with Cassandra McCauley of MMGY NextFactor About the Latest Industry Research
Destination International’s Andreas Weissenborn: Research, Advocacy, and Destination Impact
Graham and Don Welsh Discuss the Success of Destinations International’s Annual Conference
Graham and CEO Andre Kiwitz on Ventura Travel’s UK Move and Recruitment for the Role
Brett Laiken and Graham Discuss Florida’s Tourism Momentum and Global Appeal
Graham and Elliot Ferguson on Positioning DC as a Cultural and Inclusive Global Destination
Graham Talks to Fraser Last About His England-to-Ireland Trek for Mental Health Awareness
Kathy Nelson Tells Graham About the Honour of Hosting the World Cup and Kansas City’s Future
Graham McKenzie on Sir Richie Richardson’s Dual Passion for Golf and His Homeland, Antigua
ADS PRO 
Qatar Airways offers flexible payment options for European travellers
Airlines suspend Madagascar services following unrest and army revolt
Digital Travel Reporter of the Mirror totally seduced by HotelPlanner AI Travel Agent
Strike action set to cause travel chaos at Brussels airports
All eyes on Qatar as Qatar Airways leads a season of global events