Fair Trade Commission "Korean Air - Asiana Airlines, Merger Notification Received... Decision Within 90 Days"

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[Sejong=Asia Economy Reporter Joo Sang-don] The Fair Trade Commission has officially begun reviewing Korean Air's acquisition and merger (M&A) of Asiana Airlines.

On the 14th, the Fair Trade Commission announced that it had received a corporate merger notification form related to the acquisition of Asiana Airlines' shares from Korean Air.

Earlier, Korean Air

Korean Air submitted notification forms related to this corporate merger simultaneously to eight overseas competition authorities, including the Korean Fair Trade Commission, the United States, Japan, China, and the European Union (EU).

Korean Air is a company belonging to the corporate group 'Hanjin.' Its affiliates include Jin Air, Korea Airport Corporation, and Cybird Sky.

Asiana Airlines belongs to the corporate group 'Kumho Asiana,' with affiliates such as Air Busan, Air Seoul, and Asiana Airport Service.

The key to approving the acquisition and merger decision lies in whether it constitutes a monopoly and whether Asiana is considered a non-viable company. First, if Korean Air and Asiana Airlines merge, their market share will exceed or approach the 50% threshold, which is the standard for monopoly. According to the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport's Aviation Information Portal System, as of 2019, before the COVID-19 pandemic, Korean Air and Asiana Airlines held a 42.2% share of the domestic passenger market. Including affiliated low-cost carriers (LCCs) such as Jin Air, Air Busan, and Air Seoul, the domestic passenger market share rises to 66.5%. For international routes, the combined market share of the five airlines is 48.9%.

However, if the Fair Trade Commission judges Asiana Airlines to be a non-viable company, approval may be granted. In April last year, the Fair Trade Commission approved the corporate merger between Jeju Air and Eastar Jet, deeming Eastar Jet non-viable.

A Fair Trade Commission official stated, "We plan to thoroughly review this corporate merger according to the standards and procedures set forth in the Monopoly Regulation and Fair Trade Act and related laws," adding, "The review period for the corporate merger is 30 days from the date of notification, and can be extended up to 90 days if necessary." However, this is the pure review period, and the actual review period including the time for data correction may exceed 120 days.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.