After World War II, Park In-chon began a taxi service, based out of Geumnamno in Seo-gu, Gwangju.[2] By the 1950s, operations had expanded to include bus and coach services, operating as Gwangju Passenger Service (today, Kumho Buslines).
The company began vertical integration in 1960 with the establishment of Samyang Tire, today Kumho Tire. Facing a shortage of raw material, Kumho Synthetic Rubber (today Kumho Petrochemical) was established in 1971. The group expanded considerably as the Korean economy boomed, adding subsidiary companies in aviation, construction, culture, logistics, information technology, and tourism business sectors.
Surviving the 1997 Asian financial crisis in a position of strength, it acquired several companies from cash-strapped competitors in the 2000s, including Daewoo Engineering & Construction and Korea Express.[3] These acquisitions were heavily leveraged, leading to cash flow issues as the financial crisis of 2007–08 began to impact the economy. The group was forced to sell off assets and begin a debt workout program in late 2009 after an attempt to sell Daewoo E&C failed on the open market.[4]
In December 2015, Kumho Petrochemical was spun off from Kumho Asiana Group in order to raise capital for the company's remaining subsidiaries.[5]
In an effort to restructure, the group sold its controlling 45 percent stake in Kumho Tire to Chinese tire company Doublestar in July 2018.[6]
In April 2019, the company sold its controlling stake in Asiana Airlines to help pay down mounting credit debt.[7]
This article uses material from the Wikipedia article Kumho_Asiana_Group, and is written by contributors.
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