News / New owner means start-up hope for air cargo carrier Sirius at last

© Yevhenii Strebkov |

South Korean cargo airline Sirius Airlines, a start-up hampered by financial difficulties, is applying for an air operator certificate again, after Aureum Private Equity replaced CEO Kwon Do-gyun as the largest shareholder.

Branded as Sirius Air Cargo, the Busan-based carrier has informed the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, and Transport about the change in its major shareholders. The Aviation Business Act stipulates that foreigners cannot own more than 50% of a South Korean airline.

Established in April 2020, Sirius’s passenger service ambition was dashed by the Covid-19 pandemic, but in 2024, Sirius reinvented itself as a freight carrier, and applied for an air operator’s certificate, planning to launch operations that June.

Flights to Frankfurt, Tokyo, Hanoi, and Qingdao were in the works as Sirius marketed itself as a low-cost carrier based out of Busan’s Gimhae Airport, despite Incheon International processing most of South Korea’s air freight.

However, Sirius ran into financial difficulties that were exposed last December when 80 employees complained to the labour authorities that their salaries had not been paid for eight months. This saw Mr Kwon investigated for breaching the Labour Standards Act, although, at the time of writing, he has not been charged with any offence.

Prior to its financial woes, Sirius had raised about KRW 5bn ($3.86m at the time), but needed another KRW 10bn to lease aircraft, specifically A330s. The shortfall in fundraising prevented Sirius from starting flights.

Aureum is understood to have injected an eight-figure US$ sum into Sirius, banking on future demand for air freight amid soaring ecommerce sales.

The PE firm’s CEO, Choi Won-gyu, known in the market as an M&A specialist, has a reputation for arranging the sale of struggling companies, such as Hyundai Savings Bank and Daewoo.