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Former Air Premia CEO Moon Bo-gook leaves parent company AP Holdings… Kim Jung-kyu’s single-leader system takes hold

[비즈한국] AP Holdings has decided to acquire a 22% stake in the hybrid service carrier (HSC) Air Premia. AP Holdings was known to have been co-founded by Tire Bank Chairman Kim Jung-kyu and former Air Premia CEO Moon Bo-gook. However, it has been confirmed that Chairman Kim Jung-kyu’s family now owns 100% of AP Holdings, with former CEO Moon Bo-gook holding no shares.

Former CEO Moon Bo-gook resigned as the CEO of Air Premia in August last year. While he was moved to an advisory position, it is reported that he has not been involved in any actual activities at Air Premia since then. Bizhankook’s investigation revealed that Moon also resigned as an internal director of AP Holdings in August last year. Some in the industry are raising questions about a potential rift between Chairman Kim Jung-kyu and former CEO Moon Bo-gook regarding these developments.

AP Holdings currently holds a 48% stake in Air Premia. It plans to acquire the additional 22% stake currently held by Daemyung Sono Group through JC Aviation No. 1 Limited. The acquisition price is approximately 120 billion KRW, and the transaction is expected to close in September. JC Aviation No. 1 Limited is jointly owned by Daemyung Sono Group and JC Partners. Daemyung Sono Group stated, "The sale of the Air Premia stake is a strategic choice," adding, "We plan to build a more systematic and stable operating structure centered around T'way Air091810 in the future."

Once the stock transaction is complete, AP Holdings will become the largest shareholder with a 68% stake in Air Premia, giving it the capacity to manage the airline independently. However, not much is known about AP Holdings itself.

AP Holdings was established in 2023 to acquire shares in Air Premia. That year, it acquired about 30% of Air Premia to become the largest shareholder. With this latest acquisition of the stake from JC Aviation No. 1 Limited, it will become the majority shareholder of Air Premia.

AP Holdings had been known as a company co-founded by Tire Bank Chairman Kim Jung-kyu and former Air Premia CEO Moon Bo-gook. However, recent audit reports show that as of the end of last year, the entire stake in AP Holdings was held by Chairman Kim Jung-kyu’s family. Chairman Kim Jung-kyu (60) owns 20%, while his children—Kim Seung-yeon (24), Kim Sung-yeon (22), and Kim Soo-yeon (19)—own the remaining 80%. Former CEO Moon Bo-gook holds no stake in AP Holdings.

If former CEO Moon Bo-gook had owned shares at the time of AP Holdings' establishment, it is presumed he sold them to Chairman Kim’s family last year. It was reported as late as the end of October last year that Moon held a 20% stake in AP Holdings. Bizhankook inquired with Tire Bank regarding whether Moon still held shares in AP Holdings, but Tire Bank did not provide a response.

Former CEO Moon Bo-gook took office as CEO of Air Premia on August 8, 2023, and resigned on August 8, 2024. At the time of his resignation, Air Premia explained, "After his change of position, former CEO Moon will be in charge of business development and external cooperation," and "We decided on changes in key positions while re-establishing core tasks according to our business plan."

However, it has been confirmed that he did not actually engage in any significant activities after stepping down as CEO. An Air Premia official stated, "Former CEO Moon acted as an advisor for AP Holdings, not for Air Premia," adding, "He carried out advisory activities from the position of a major shareholder regarding investments, and it is difficult to confirm his current situation."

It was confirmed that former CEO Moon Bo-gook resigned as an internal director of AP Holdings on August 5, 2024, three days before resigning as CEO of Air Premia. With no shares and no position on the board of directors, it appears highly unlikely that Moon will be involved in the future management of AP Holdings or Air Premia.

Because of this, some in the aviation industry are speculating about a potential conflict between Chairman Kim Jung-kyu and former CEO Moon Bo-gook. Bizhankook asked Tire Bank about the current status of former CEO Moon Bo-gook's activities, but did not receive a response.