Seo Jun-hyuk pushes T’way turnaround with debt ratio cut

May 18, 2026, 08:17 am

Seo Jun-hyuk is accelerating efforts to improve the financial health of T’way Air, lowering the airline’s debt ratio by more than 1,500 percentage points in a single quarter as he faces a major test of his second-generation leadership.

According to T’way Air’s first-quarter report released on May 17, the company’s debt ratio fell to 1,948%, dropping below the 2,000% level for the first time in five quarters. The figure stood at 3,500% at the end of last year.

Industry observers say the successful turnaround of the airline business will be critical for Seo as he seeks to establish independent management credentials beyond the influence of his mother, Park Chun-hee.

Seo, born in 1980, officially became chairman of Sono Trinity Group — formerly Daemyung Sono Group — in 2023, marking the beginning of second-generation leadership following founder Seo Hong-song. However, Park remains a powerful figure within the group. She is the group’s officially designated controlling shareholder under South Korea’s Fair Trade Commission regulations and held a 33.24% stake in holding company Sono International as of the end of last year, compared with Seo’s 28.96%.

Seo is now seeking to prove his leadership through the successful integration of T’way Air into the group’s broader hospitality business. His vision centers on combining the group’s hotel and resort operations with airline services.

The group recently changed its name to Sono Trinity Group, while T’way Air also rebranded itself as “Trinity Air.” Official operations under the new airline name will begin after approvals from domestic and overseas regulators are completed.

Since leading the acquisition of T’way Air in June last year, Seo has focused heavily on strengthening the company’s balance sheet.

T’way Air has raised more than 200 billion won through third-party share allocations and other capital measures, while also issuing around 90 billion won worth of privately placed perpetual bonds to expand capital and manage debt levels.

Analysts say additional financing measures may still be necessary as the airline continues to struggle with accumulated net losses.

The company recently amended its articles of incorporation to double the number of authorized shares from 500 million to 1 billion and increased the issuance limit for convertible bonds and bonds with warrants tenfold, from 50 billion won to 500 billion won, securing additional fundraising capacity.

Financial restructuring is also underway at affiliate T’way Holdings, the second-largest shareholder of T’way Air with a 14.61% stake.

Although T’way Holdings lost its status as parent company after joining Sono Trinity Group last year, it continues to face financial pressure from the airline’s prolonged weak performance. As of the first quarter, the company’s accumulated deficit had reached 236.5 billion won, more than four times its capital base of 56.6 billion won.

T’way Holdings plans to hold an extraordinary shareholders’ meeting in June to approve a capital reduction through a five-for-one reverse stock split aimed at offsetting part of its deficit and improving its financial structure.

Market observers believe the move is also intended to avoid delisting risks. As of May 15, T’way Holdings shares closed at just 239 won. Under new rules taking effect in July, Kosdaq-listed companies whose share prices remain below 1,000 won for 30 consecutive trading days will be designated as management issues and could face delisting if they fail to recover above the threshold for at least 45 out of the following 90 trading days.

Industry analysts say the normalization of T’way Air will become the ultimate measure of Seo’s leadership and control over the group.

Although Park Chun-hee has stepped down from registered board positions, she still holds enough shares to exercise significant influence behind the scenes. Analysts say complete management control may only be secured once those shares are fully transferred to Seo through inheritance or gifting.

In a recent internal message, Seo said the name “Sono Trinity” reflects the group’s intention to organically connect different areas of expertise and experience to create greater synergy and new value.

“We will evolve into a company that connects customers’ journeys and lifestyles through hotels, resorts and aviation,” he said.

#T’way Air #Sono Trinity Group #Seo Jun-hyuk #Park Chun-hee #debt ratio