Asiana's auditor couldn't value the airline — chairman Park Sam-koo resigned

On March 28, 2019, Park Sam-koo — son of Kumho Asiana's founder — announced he was stepping down as group chairman and as CEO of Asiana Airlines and Kumho Industrial, leaving no title at any group company while keeping influence as top shareholder of Kumho Buslines, the de facto holding unit. The trigger: auditor Samil PwC issued a qualified opinion on the airline's 2018 financials, saying it could not determine the carrier's value because it could not confirm maintenance liabilities, mileage liabilities, deferred profits, impairments, affiliates' fair values or Air Busan's consolidation.

The Korea Exchange suspended trading in Asiana shares from March 22 to 25. Samil revised its opinion to unqualified on Tuesday and trading resumed, but the restatement revealed a serious liquidity crisis: revenue of ₩7.18 trillion (up 8.9%) with operating profit down 88.5% to ₩28.2 billion and a net loss of ₩195.9 billion — the previous report had claimed ₩88.7 billion of operating profit and a ₩105 billion loss. Total debt stood at ₩6.17 trillion, with the debt-to-asset ratio at 649.3 per cent, up 83.4 percentage points in a year.

The airline accounts for 60 per cent of group revenue, so Park turned to state-run Korea Development Bank, meeting KDB chairman Lee Dong-gull to express his 'sincere willingness' to turn Asiana around. The resignation capped years of criticism — the 2018 in-flight meal shortage protests and the decision to sell Kumho Tire to China's Doublestar rather than buy it back — and the affiliates said outside figures would replace him.

Trading suspended for three days on the Korea Exchange; restated operating profit fell 88.5% to ₩28.2bn with a ₩195.9bn net loss.

The books were too incomplete for the auditor to value Korea's second-largest airline, which is what forced the qualification.

The first audit report understated the loss by roughly ₩91 billion before the restatement corrected it.

A chairman with no operating title after resigning still controlled the group through Kumho Buslines, complicating the accountability he announced.

Auditors cannot value what management cannot document: when the qualification lands, every number signed before it gets repriced.

The two affiliates said outside figures would be brought in to replace Park, and the group sought KDB's help to stabilise the airline — the liquidity crisis the restatement exposed led, within weeks, to Asiana being put up for sale.