Who owns Korean Air?
Korean Air is owned by Korean Air Lines Co., Ltd. (South Korea, KRX: 003490).[1]
This ownership is reported in official statements but has not yet been matched to a regulatory filing.
Evidence: Korean Air Lines Registration Statement (Debt securities), including semi-annual consolidated report, 18 September 2025, Financial Supervisory Service (DART), 18 September 2025. Last checked .
Key facts
- Current owner
- Korean Air Lines Co., Ltd. reported
- Owner HQ
- 🇰🇷 South Korea, Seoul
- Origin
- 🇰🇷 South Korea, Seoul
- Founded
- 1962
- Category
- Travel & transport › Airlines
- Parent ticker
- KRX: 003490
- Last verified
- · 1 sources
About Korean Air
Korean Air is the main airline brand of Korean Air Lines Co., Ltd., headquartered in Seoul. Its filing says it was set up in June 1962 as Korean Air Corporation, listed in March 1966 and was privatized in March 1969. At the end of June 2025 it operated 161 aircraft to 10 domestic cities and 107 cities in 39 countries, and it also runs an aerospace business covering aircraft design, manufacturing and maintenance.
Ownership timeline of Korean Air
- Current owner Korean Air [1] reported
Where Korean Air sits in Korean Air
Controlling ownership as of . Brands grouped under the entity that owns them; large groups are collapsed.
- Air Seoul
- Asiana Airlines (63.88%)
- Jin Air (54.91%)
- Korean Air
Open the full Korean Air ownership tree →
See the full Korean Air brand portfolio (4) →
Other brands owned by Korean Air
Korean Air controls 4 brands on Brandtree, 4 of them in travel & transport.
Also in travel & transport
Other brands in airlines, and who owns them
The 509 brands in airlines on Brandtree belong to 341 owners. The largest is Lufthansa Group, with 10; Korean Air has 4.
| Brand | Owner | Owner based in |
|---|---|---|
| Air Dolomiti | Lufthansa Group | 🇩🇪 Germany |
| China Southern Airlines | China Southern Airlines | 🇨🇳 China |
| Air China | Air China | 🇨🇳 China |
| Aer Lingus | IAG | 🇬🇧 United Kingdom |
| LATAM Airlines Brasil | LATAM | 🇨🇱 Chile |
| Air France | Air France-KLM | 🇫🇷 France |
| AirAsia | AirAsia X | 🇲🇾 Malaysia |
| Calm Air | Exchange Income | 🇨🇦 Canada |
About the owner: Korean Air
Korean Air is a publicly listed company headquartered in Seoul, South Korea, founded in 1962. Brandtree records 4 brands under its control, and it is listed as KRX: 003490.
South Korean airline group headquartered in Gangseo-gu, Seoul and listed on the Korea Exchange main market since March 1966 under stock code 003490. Its September 2025 registration statement on DART says it was established in June 1962 as Korean Air Corporation (daehan hanggong gongsa) and moved from state to private ownership in March 1969, and that its largest shareholder is Hanjin KAL Corp. with 26.95% as of 17 September 2025. The same filing lists Asiana Airlines (63.88%), Jin Air (54.91%), Air Busan (41.91%) and Air Seoul (100%) as consolidated subsidiaries at 30 June 2025, and records that Korean Air became Asiana's largest shareholder in December 2024.
🇰🇷 Korean Air and other South Korean brands
Brandtree records a controlling owner for 185 brands that began in South Korea. 7 of them (4%) are now controlled by a company headquartered in another country; Korean Air is not one of them.
- Aero K — Aero K 🇰🇷
- Air Premia — Air Premia 🇰🇷
- Eastar Jet — Eastar Jet 🇰🇷
- HMM — HMM 🇰🇷
- Hanjin — Hanjin 🇰🇷
- Jeju Air — Jeju Air 🇰🇷
Frequently asked questions
Who is the parent company of Korean Air?
The parent company of Korean Air is Korean Air Lines Co., Ltd., a publicly listed company headquartered in South Korea.
Is Korean Air South Korean?
Yes. Korean Air originated in South Korea in 1962 and its owner, Korean Air Lines Co., Ltd., is also headquartered in South Korea.
Is Korean Air still owned by Korean Air Lines Co., Ltd.?
Yes. As of 4 October 2026, Korean Air is still owned by Korean Air Lines Co., Ltd. The ownership record was last checked against primary sources on that date.
Sources (1) & corrections
Last verified . Every ownership fact above is backed by one of these primary documents. Numbers in brackets in the text refer to this list.
- [1] Korean Air Lines Registration Statement (Debt securities), including semi-annual consolidated report, 18 September 2025 — Financial Supervisory Service (DART), Stock exchange filing, published 18 September 2025; retrieved 4 October 2026.
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