Korean Air, which acquired Asiana Airlines, has completed the removal of the aircraft's wing logo, which was a symbol of Asiana Airlines. The red wing-shaped logo had been used for about 20 years since Asiana Airlines changed its corporate identity (CI) to that of a woman wearing a traditional Korean dress in 2006, but has now been removed from all items except for some supplies.
According to the airline industry on the 31st, Korean Air began removing Asiana Airlines' wing logo immediately after receiving approval for the merger with Asiana Airlines at the end of last year and recently completed the removal of the wing logo from all 83 passenger aircraft currently in operation. The wing logo was also removed from airport counters and outdoor signage, but it was decided to continue using remaining supplies such as baggage tags and tickets.
Less than three months after Korean Air incorporated Asiana Airlines as a subsidiary and quickly deleted the wing logo, some analysts suggested this action was to prevent royalty or trademark disputes. The wing logo is a symbol of the Kumho Group to which Asiana Airlines belonged. Kumho Engineering & Construction and Kumho Express, among others, use the wing logo in their CI.
Asiana Airlines has been using the wing logo since 2006 and has been paying 0.2% of its revenue to Kumho Engineering & Construction monthly as royalties. The revenue earned by Kumho Engineering & Construction from Asiana Airlines in 2019 was about 12.4 billion won. Earlier, HDC Hyundai Development Company, which had pushed for the acquisition of Asiana Airlines, also announced intentions to change the trademark.
However, since May 2021, Asiana Airlines has signed a free trademark license agreement with Kumho Engineering & Construction and has not been paying royalties since then. Additionally, the trademark previously used by Asiana Airlines, which is registered with the Korean Intellectual Property Office as of 2006, can continue to be used without any issues in the future.
Industry sources interpreted that, as Asiana Airlines flies to 60 major cities worldwide, the removal of the logo was a move by Korean Air to announce changes within the corporate group. Daemyung Sonogroup, which recently acquired T’way Air, is also in the process of changing its CI by filing trademarks such as Sonoh Airlines.
An airline industry official noted, "Even if Asiana Airlines is operated independently until the launch of the integrated airline, it was necessary to clarify that Asiana Airlines is no longer part of the Kumho Group." Earlier, Cho Won-tae, chairman of Hanjin Group, stated in a communication to Asiana Airlines employees, "I do not wish for the unique culture and assets of Asiana Airlines to disappear. Change will occur on the foundation you have steadily built up."