[비즈한국] It has been confirmed through BizHankook's coverage that Kumho Express, an affiliate of Kumho Group, acquired Yongnam Express, a bus company based in Suwon, in April of this year. Previously, in 2024, Kumho Express also established Kumho Mokpo City Bus in Mokpo. What stands out is that Park Se-jin (48), an executive director at Kumho Express and the eldest daughter of former Kumho Asiana Group Chairman Park Sam-koo (81), has been appointed as an internal director for both Kumho Mokpo City Bus and Yongnam Express. It appears that Kumho Group is expanding its bus-related businesses with Executive Director Park Se-jin at the center.
Kumho Express was established in 2020 after Kumho Buslines split off its express bus division. Following the split, Kumho Buslines focuses on real estate management and holding company-related business, while the actual bus operations are handled by Kumho Express. However, the company still uses the "Kumho Buslines" brand for external purposes. According to its audit report, Kumho Express showed relatively solid performance last year, recording 322.4 billion won in revenue and 25.3 billion won in operating profit.
Kumho Express has been expanding its bus business recently. After establishing the Kumho Mokpo City Bus corporate entity in 2024, it has been operating city buses in Mokpo. Kumho Mokpo City Bus recorded 7.7 billion won in revenue last year. In April of this year, Kumho Express also acquired Yongnam Express. Yongnam Express is a bus company based in Suwon, Gyeonggi-do, operating intercity buses and airport buses. By continuously establishing and acquiring bus companies, the scale of Kumho Express has grown accordingly.
A business industry insider analyzed, "While the outlook for the express bus business doesn't look bright due to the increase in rail and air travel, the demand for commuting between Gyeonggi-do and Seoul remains steady, and buses are essential in areas without subway access, so the strategy of Kumho Express seems sound." Yongnam Express's intercity buses operate on routes such as Seoul-Asan, Seoul-Cheonan, and Suwon-Cheonan.
What is noteworthy is that Executive Director Park Se-jin is serving as an internal director at both Kumho Mokpo City Bus and Yongnam Express. Executive Director Park previously worked at Kumho Resort before moving to Kumho Express in 2021. This move is interpreted as a consequence of Kumho Group selling Kumho Resort to Kumho Petrochemical Group at the time.
Although Executive Director Park does not currently have a significant presence in the business world, she is evaluated as managing Kumho Express smoothly. If the business expansion of Kumho Express leads to successful results, the evaluation of Executive Director Park may also rise. However, as Kumho Express's operating profit fell by 16.75% from 30.4 billion won in 2024 to 25.3 billion won in 2025, improving profitability remains a task to be addressed.
Former Chairman Park Sam-koo has one son and one daughter: Park Se-chang (51), Vice Chairman of Kumho E&C, and Executive Director Park Se-jin. It appears that Vice Chairman Park Se-chang is focusing on construction, while Executive Director Park Se-jin is focusing on the bus business. Some in the business sector raise the possibility that Kumho Group may separate these affiliates in the future, centering on construction and buses, respectively. This is because the domains of Vice Chairman Park Se-chang and Executive Director Park Se-jin are separate, and there is little business correlation between them.
Former Chairman Park Sam-koo is facing charges of embezzlement and breach of trust. In the first trial in August 2022, he was sentenced to 10 years in prison, but in the second trial last September, his sentence was reduced to two years and six months in prison suspended for four years. The prosecution has appealed the decision. Former Chairman Park has not been making public appearances.
Industry experts expect that the succession process of Kumho Group will begin in earnest after former Chairman Park Sam-koo's sentence is finalized. As of the end of 2023, the shareholders of Kumho Buslines consisted of: former Chairman Park Sam-koo (45.43%), Vice Chairman Park Se-chang (28.57%), Lee Kyung-yeol (wife of former Chairman Park Sam-koo, 4.24%), and Executive Director Park Se-jin (2.35%). While Kumho Buslines has not disclosed subsequent changes in shareholders, it is reported that there have been no notable changes. Both Kumho E&C and Kumho Express are subsidiaries of Kumho Buslines.
Although Vice Chairman Park Se-chang’s stake is significantly larger than Executive Director Park Se-jin’s, considering the corporate scale of Kumho E&C and Kumho Express, a separation of affiliates is not impossible. As of the end of last year, Kumho E&C's total assets amounted to 1.5044 trillion won, while Kumho Express's were 397.5 billion won. This is why there is speculation about the possibility of Executive Director Park Se-jin separating Kumho Express, which is relatively smaller in corporate scale, despite her lower stake in Kumho Buslines.