Report, photo copyright by : Gan Yung Chyan, KUCINTA SETIA
The 1.8 trillion won (US$1.4 billion) merger between Korean Air and Asiana Airlines has passed the last hurdle.
According to relevant industry sources on 2 December 2024, the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) finally approved the merger between Korean Air and Asiana Airlines. As for the DOJ's review, it will not announce the results separately. It is reported that the position expressed by the DOJ is equivalent to a decision not to file a lawsuit, and if a monopoly lawsuit is not filed, it can be regarded as approval.
In addition, according to previous reports, on 28 November 2024 local time, the European Commission finally approved the merger application of Korean Air and Asiana Airlines. The European Commission announced on its website that the merger of Korean Air and Asiana Airlines will end its review after all prerequisites are met.
Since Korean Air announced the acquisition of Asiana Airlines in November 2020, it has taken more than four years to obtain approval from all 14 countries required for the merger. After the merger, Korean Air will become the world's 10th largest airline and the largest airline in Northeast Asia.
Regarding the merger of Korean Air and Asiana Airlines, Hwang Young-sik, a professor at the School of Business at Sejong University in South Korea, commented: "Korean Air has long failed to gain growth momentum in the market divided by the two giants. Through this merger, the operations of the two companies have been greatly streamlined. Korean Air, in particular, has impressed the global aviation industry by increasing cargo volume to offset the losses caused by the epidemic."
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