By Kim Yoo-chul, Cho Mu-hyun
The chairman of the troubled Kumho-Asiana Group has faced allegations that he had used the company’s funds for a luxury vacation with his family.
Chairman Park Sam-koo’s vacation again raises ethical questions about the chaebol owner family, who are little affected by troubles facing their conglomerates.
According to industry sources, Sunday, the Kumho-Asiana chairman flew on Oct. 1 to the Mexican resort city of Los Cabos for a one-week vacation during the Chuseok holiday.
Park was accompanied by his wife, daughter Park Se-jin, his son-in-law ― a lawyer from Korea’s top-rated law firm of Kim & Chang ― and two bodyguards.
Sources claim that a CEO’s trip itself can be a non-issue but he claimed that he used his company’s money for a lavish trip, while his company has been in a severe belt-tightening mode.
Park stayed in the top-rated resort hotel Stay at One & Only Palmilla. He spent only three hours on company affairs for meetings with officials at Asiana Airlines and Kumho Tire in the United States.
The trip was revealed when all-out efforts were being mounted to escape from the work-out program and put the troubled group back on track.
``Given that Kumho-Asiana is still under creditors' supervision, Park’s luxury vacation can’t but raise the eyebrows. The group is unlikely to graduate from receivership this year,’’ said an industry source who is familiar with the situation asking not to be identified.
``CEOs and bosses of most Korean conglomerates spend their time checking up on business affairs and to prepare how they could overcome the deepening market uncertainties. In that regard, his trip can be highly-controversial,’’ the official added. “In addition, I was heard that his travel expenses were supported by his company.”
The nation’s mid-tier conglomerate, which mainly focuses on airline business, has been under a creditors'-led workout program controlled by the state-run Korea Development Bank (KDB) since January, 2010.
Park stepped down from the top post in 2009 in the wake of a family feud with his younger brother Kumho Petrochemical Chairman Park Chan-koo but returned last year following the green-light from the KDB.
Over the past few years, Kumho-Asiana has made much effort to fix its financial balance sheets but the group still remains in bad shape with the debt ratio for Kumho Industrial, the holding company for the group, reaching 2,900 percent by the end of June, this year.
A Kumho-Asiana Group official admitted to the overseas trip but refuted allegations that the chairman used company money to travel abroad.
“It is no more than a slanderous move. This vacation is the first in three years since the company was put under creditors'-receivership.”
“We do not believe that the chairman using the occasion of the Chuseok holiday to meet with his family is morally wrong.”