HDC already has plans to change Asiana logo

With a consortium of HDC Hyundai Development and Mirae Asset Daewoo selected as the preferred bidder for Asiana Airlines, the prospective owner has already laid out its plan to change the logo of the airline to cut trademark costs.

The airline has been paying trademark fees for using its current red-wing-shaped logo to Kumho Industrial.

The airline adopted the current logo in 2006 when Kumho Asiana Group introduced a new group-wide corporate identity to mark its 60th anniversary. The airline then started inking trademark contracts with Kumho Industrial, the group’s de facto holding unit, from 2007.

The trademark fees, paid on a monthly basis, are set at 0.2 percent of the airline’s and its affiliates’ revenue. The latest deal between the airline and Kumho Industrial was inked in April and expires at the end of April next year. Based on corporate filings in April, the airline is paying 14.37 billion won ($12.31 million) for using the trademarks for a year.

The current logo of HDC Hyundai Development is the letters HDC written in red.

Even after a new logo is created, it will take more time to totally rebrand the airline as wrappings for planes and all Asiana equipment will need to be replaced.

The new consortium taking over Asiana Airlines will likely keep the name of the airline considering the brand recognition of the second-largest full-service carrier in Korea.

“I am not considering changing the name of Asiana Airlines for now, as the company has built a good brand image,” Chairman Chung Mong-gyu of HDC Hyundai Development said during a press briefing held Tuesday. “We are mulling over how to make a harmonious [name] that could be beneficial both for HDC [and Asiana Airlines.]”

As most affiliates of HDC Hyundai Development use the letters HDC, which is short for Hyundai Development Company, in front of their names, industry insiders are expecting Asiana to become HDC Asiana.

If the deal goes ahead, the official stock purchase between the preferred bidder and Kumho Industrial will take place within the year.

BY KIM JEE-HEE [kim.jeehee@joongang.co.kr]