(ATTN: UPDATES with more details in paras 4-6)
SEOUL, Oct. 30 (Yonhap) — The board of Asiana Airlines Inc., South Korea’s second-largest air carrier, is set to decide Monday whether to offload its cargo business, as Korean Air Co. endeavors to obtain antitrust authorization from the European Union for its acquisition of the rival.
The EU antitrust regulators have raised doubts that Korean Air’s takeover of Asiana could limit competition in the markets for passenger and cargo air transport services between the EU and South Korea.
The board meeting scheduled for the afternoon is estimated to be closely monitored by stakeholders, as the outcome could potentially make or break the acquisition deal that has been pursued for the past three years.
Prior to the meeting, Jin Kwang-ho, head of Asiana’s safety and security division and one of Asiana’s two internal board members, has offered to resign citing personal reasons, according to the company.
With the absence of Jin, five remaining board members — one internal and four external members — will determine whether to move forward with the proposed sale of the cargo division.
Korean Air, the larger of South Korea’s two full-service airlines, was also slated to convene its own board meeting Monday to discuss remedies to address concerns raised by the European Commission (EC), the EU’s executive body.
This file photo from June 7, 2023, shows an Asiana Airlines plane taking off from Incheon International Airport, west of Seoul. (Yonhap)
Korean Air plans to submit formal remedies by the end of the month. It is widely believed that the plan to sell Asiana’s cargo business and divest landing slots for four European cities will be included.
In a statement sent to Yonhap News Agency, Korean Air said it is “working closely with the EC and will submit formal remedies by the end of the month as requested by the authority to address the concerns.”
Korean Air has reportedly decided to keep Asiana Airlines’ workers on the condition that Asiana agrees to sell its cargo business for the takeover deal to be approved by EU regulators.
Unionized workers at Asiana Airlines have expressed opposition to such a move to sell off the cargo division, citing concerns of possible layoffs.
odissy@yna.co.kr
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