Exclusive
Tire Bank, Parent Company of Air Premia, Files for More Aviation-Related Trademarks Under Owner Family’s Company

[비즈한국] It has been confirmed that the company 'Seonggong-eul-mandeuneun' (Creating Success) has filed for a new trademark, 'KOREA PREMIUM AIR'. Last year, Seonggong-eul-mandeuneun also filed for two trademarks: 'KOREA AIRWAYS' and 'KOREA STARAIR'. All of these are trademarks that evoke the aviation industry. Seonggong-eul-mandeuneun is a company 100% owned by the owner family of Tire Bank. This has led to speculation that the trademark applications are being made with Air Premia, a Tire Bank affiliate, in mind.

According to the patent information service Kipris, Seonggong-eul-mandeuneun filed for the 'KOREA PREMIUM AIR' trademark on January 7 this year. Seonggong-eul-mandeuneun is a company 100% owned by the three daughters of Tire Bank Chairman Kim Jung-kyu (61): Kim Seung-yeon (25), Kim Sung-yeon (23), and Kim Su-yeon (20). Initially, Chairman Kim Jung-kyu served as the CEO of Seonggong-eul-mandeuneun, but he resigned last November. Currently, Chairman Kim's wife, Jo Soon-hee (59), is listed as an executive director.

The designated goods for the trademark 'KOREA PREMIUM AIR' filed by Seonggong-eul-mandeuneun include: air transport services, consulting in the field of air transport, tourist guide services, traffic information provision services, rental of atmospheric diving suits, booking of airplane seats, storage/transport/delivery of goods, energy and fuel storage services, and travel ticket booking services.

Seonggong-eul-mandeuneun had previously filed for two trademarks, 'KOREA AIRWAYS' and 'KOREA STARAIR', in July of last year, also designating air transport services and the like. The primary business of Seonggong-eul-mandeuneun is plastic manufacturing/sales and real estate leasing, which is far from the aviation industry. It does not even have aviation-related business in its articles of incorporation. Bizhankook inquired about their stance at the time the company filed for the trademarks, but did not receive a response (Related article: [Exclusive] Tire Bank owner family's company files for trademarks like 'Korea Airways'... Will Air Premia change its name?).

However, considering that the low-cost carrier (LCC) Air Premia is a Tire Bank affiliate, it cannot be said that Seonggong-eul-mandeuneun is completely unrelated to the aviation industry. In addition to the 48% stake in Air Premia held by the affiliate AP Holdings, Tire Bank acquired a 22% stake in Air Premia last September. With this, the Tire Bank Group became the largest shareholder with approximately 70% of Air Premia's shares. As of the end of 2024, the ownership of Tire Bank is as follows: Chairman Kim Jung-kyu holds 92.99%, Jo Soon-hee 5%, Kim Seung-yeon 1%, Kim Sung-yeon 1%, and Kim Su-yeon 0.01%.

If Air Premia were to use these trademarks, it would have to pay trademark usage fees to Seonggong-eul-mandeuneun. In this case, it would lead to direct profit for the Tire Bank owner family, as Chairman Kim Jung-kyu's three daughters own 100% of Seonggong-eul-mandeuneun. However, an Air Premia official stated that there are no plans to change the company name.

The recent atmosphere at Air Premia is not bad. The number of passengers increased from 766,503 in 2024 to 1,088,964 in 2025. This is the first time the annual passenger count has surpassed 1 million. Net cargo transport volume also increased from 23,424 tons (t) in 2024 to 34,546 tons in 2025.

An Air Premia official said, "2025 was a year in which we established the company's foundation for growth and route portfolio through the introduction of new aircraft and the launch of new routes," adding, "In 2026, we plan to stably operate a total of 9 routes, including the new route to Washington D.C., while simultaneously enhancing profitability and the customer experience through operational efficiency and service refinement."