Korean Air has lost tens of billions of won in the hotel business for the fourth consecutive year. The loss-making streak is expected to be extended this year due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The operating loss of the Wilshire Grand Center in Los Angeles rose 42.8 percent on year to 80.3 billion won in 2020. The hotel is operated by Hanjin International Corp. (HIC), a subsidiary of Korean Air. The size of the operating loss has been on the rise for four years with 50.1 billion won in 2017, 56.6 billion won in 2018, 56.2 billion won in 2019 and 80.3 billion won 2020.

HIC acquired the Wilshire Grand Hotel in downtown Los Angeles in 1989 and opened the Wilshire Grand Center, a 335-meter-tall, 73-story hotel and office complex, in 2017 after redevelopment. At the time, HIC invested more than one trillion to remodel the hotel, which is a landmark in L.A.

In 2020, HIC's financial structure deteriorated significantly as demand for offices decreased and the hotel business sank into a slump due to the spread of COVID-19. In 2020, Korean Air urgently injected US$950 million into HIC to repay its overdue loans.

HIC's asset value has also been drastically reduced. HIC's book value was 21.9 billion won in 2020, a drop of 97.1 percent from 756.1 billion won a year ago.