January 31, 2024
Japan Fair Trade Commission
The Japan Fair Trade Commission (hereinafter referred to as the “JFTC”) reviewed the proposed acquisition of Asiana Airlines Inc. (JCN 7700150000045) (“Asiana Airlines” headquartered in the Republic of Korea) by Korean Air Co., Ltd. (JCN 6700150004988) (“Korean Air” headquartered in the Republic of Korea. Asiana Airlines and Korean Air are hereinafter collectively referred to as the “Parties”) (hereinafter referred to as the “Transaction”) and notified the Parties today that it would not issue a cease and desist order.
As a result of the review, based on the premise that the Parties will implement their proposed remedies, the JFTC concluded that it could not establish that the Transaction would substantially restrain competition in any particular fields of trade. (Please refer to the Attachment for overview of the JFTC’s review results.)
Appointment of a monitoring trustee（October 4, 2024 Updated）
On April 18, 2024, the JFTC approved the appointment of Evelyn Partners LLP, appointed by Korean Air, as a monitoring trustee to monitor compliance measures in the business combination review regarding the proposed acquisition of Asiana Airlines by Korean Air. This approval relates to those for international air passenger transportation business (i.e., Slot Divestment and Open Slot Commitment) and a part of the measures for international air cargo transportation business (i.e., a remedial measure related to Block Space Agreements), among the remedial solutions proposed by Korean Air.
Moreover, on April 25, 2024, the JFTC approved the appointment of Forvis Mazars LLP, appointed by Korean Air, as a monitoring trustee to monitor compliance measures in the business combination review aforementioned. This approval relates to the divestment of Asiana Airlines’ freighter-based air cargo transportation business to a third party (Freighter Business Divestment), among the remedial solutions on the international air cargo transportation business proposed by Korean Air.
Approval of the Freighter Business Divestment, etc.（December 9, 2024 Updated）
On December 9, 2024, the JFTC approved the agreement, proposed by Korean Air, with Air Incheon Co., Ltd. (JCN 3700150122834) as the transferee, finding that the agreement meets various requirements—including the eligibility of a transferee—specified in the remedies outlined in the business combination review regarding the proposed acquisition of Asiana Airlines by Korean Air. This approval is a condition for the divestment of Asiana Airlines’ freighter-based air cargo transportation business to a third party (Freighter Business Divestment), among the remedies on the international air cargo transportation business proposed by Korean Air.
In addition, by December 9, 2024, the JFTC approved the Block Space Agreement with T'way Air Co., Ltd. (JCN 6700150059033) for the international air cargo transportation business, as well as Slot Transfer Agreements with Eastar Jet Co., Ltd. (JCN 4700150015285), T'way Air Co., Ltd. (JCN 6700150059033) and Peach Aviation Ltd. (JCN 7120101047384) for the international air passenger transportation business, among the remedies.
Notice of the Commencement of Solicitation for Slot Transferees under the Open Slot Commitment (March 3, 2025 Updated)
The solicitation for slot transferees through the Open Slot Commitment (a measure to widely solicit the transferees of the slots owned by the Parties Group on specific routes) has started for the IATA (International Air Transport Association) winter season 2025/2026 as part of the remedies proposed by Korean Air, based on the measures related to international air passenger transportation business.
For details of the application, please visit the website of Evelyn Partners LLP, a monitoring trustee that monitors the compliance with the measures.
* JCN : Japan Corporate Number
* It should be noted that this announcement is a tentative translation. Please refer to the original text written in Japanese for more details.
