Sonoh International, the resort corporation at the top of the domestic industry Daemyung Sonogroup, has moved to secure management rights in the low-cost airline (LCC) T'way Air. The company is also considering a merger with another airline, Air Premia, in which it holds equity. The goal is to create a new airline that can secure medium-, short-, and long-haul routes, thereby expanding its global market presence and creating synergies with its hospitality business. A task force (TF) has also been established to support this.
On the 22nd, Sonoh International announced that it would intensify its management participation by requiring T'way Air to improve its management and by making requests for shareholder registry inspection and shareholder proposals. However, as Sonoh International is T'way's second-largest shareholder and the equity difference with the largest shareholder Tway Holdings and YeaRimDang is about 3 percentage points, a management rights dispute is expected to be inevitable.
◇ The management rights dispute surrounding T'way intensifies… the outcome is likely to depend on minority shareholders.
Daemyung Sonogroup secured 26.77% equity in T'way Air for approximately 176 billion won last July. After its holding company, Sonoh International, acquired 14.9% equity from the private equity operator JKL Partners for 105.6 billion won, its affiliate DAEMYUNG SONOSEASON exercised a call option to acquire the remaining 11.87% equity for 70.8 billion won in August.
Currently, T'way Air's largest shareholders are Tway Holdings (28.05%) and YeaRimDang (1.72%). Including the equity of special-related parties, it constitutes 30.08%. Compared to the equity of the second-largest shareholder, Daemyung Sonogroup (Sonoh International 16.77%, DAEMYUNG SONOSEASON 10.00%), the gap is only 3.31 percentage points.
Excluding the employee stock ownership association's 2.91%, over 40% of the remaining equity is held by minority shareholders. Therefore, it is expected that the decisions of minority shareholders during this regular shareholders' meeting will influence the outcome of the management rights dispute.
Initially, Sonoh International stated that its acquisition of T'way Air's equity was a strategic investment with no intention of acquiring management rights. However, it shifted its position after six months, officially announcing its entry into the airline industry. The group has chosen aviation as a new business that will determine its future.
In October last year, it also acquired 50% equity in the second-largest shareholder of another LCC, Air Premia, JC Aviation No. 1 Co., Ltd. It holds a call option to purchase the remaining 50% equity after June this year.
Daemyung Sonogroup appears to be actively pursuing management rights in Air Premia in the future. There are forecasts that T'way Air and Air Premia will be merged after securing management rights in both companies. Air Premia specializes in medium- to long-haul flights and plans to enter the aviation industry in earnest by securing all routes from domestic and Asia to long-haul routes covering Europe and North America.
◇ Daemyung Sonogroup dreams of becoming a 'global corporation' amid domestic limitations… using the airline industry as a bridge.
Daemyung Sonogroup's entry into the airline industry is aimed at expanding its global market presence and creating synergies with its core business in hospitality. Connecting aviation with hotels and resorts can secure more users at once.
Daemyung Sonogroup is the largest resort corporation in the country, known for 'Sol Beach' and 'Sonoh Bell.' It provides comprehensive leisure services through various businesses including resorts, hotels, leisure, real estate development, and the airline industry. Last year, it was designated as a large corporate disclosure group for the first time in its 45-year history, marking a new milestone.
In 2019, the group began to expand overseas, judging that growth solely through domestic markets would be limited due to aging and current demographic structures. That same year, it succeeded in its first overseas venture by operating the 'Song Gia Resort' in Vietnam, rebranding it as 'Sonoh Bell Haiphong.' To enter the global market, it also changed its name and brand from 'Daemyung' to 'Sonoh.'
In 2022, it acquired and began operating the Normandy Hotel in Washington, D.C., in 2023 the 33 Seaport Hotel in New York, in 2024 the Hotel Dame Des Arts in Paris, and the Waikiki Resort Hotel in Hawaii. This integrated travel product combines lodging and aviation, which can attract global customers.
Daemyung Sonoh can expand direct flight routes to major hubs such as New York, Hawaii, and Haiphong, Vietnam, through T'way Air's network and link accommodations. The aim is to evolve into a global tourism corporation centered in Korea.
For example, Germany's TUI Group, the largest tourism corporation in Europe, owns several airlines, including TUI Airways and TUI Fly. It operates regular routes and charter flights connecting major cities and tourist destinations across Europe while simultaneously selling products linked to its own resorts, hotels, tours, and cruises, thereby enhancing accessibility to TUI's resorts and tourism products based on its airline network.
Linking aviation and accommodation has the advantage of providing customers with a 'one-stop service.' It also allows for possible connectivity of VIP services between the two sides. The options for creating synergies are limitless. In this context, Daemyung Sonogroup recently formed an internal aviation business TF to prepare specific business plans.
Chairman Seo Jun-hyuk of Daemyung Sonogroup said, 'By maximizing customer satisfaction for T'way Air and contributing to enhancing shareholder value through the launch of various products and strengthened customer service using Daemyung Sonogroup's rich domestic and international infrastructure, we will use this entry into the airline industry as a new growth engine to leap forward as a global leading corporation.'